Yesterday, EL AL Israel Airlines operated its inaugural flight on its 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Ft. Lauderdale to Tel Aviv. This new, non-stop service between Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport and Tel Aviv, brings the weekly South Florida schedule to seven flights, just in time for Passover and the busy summer travel season.

“In response to increased demand, EL AL is expanding its U.S. operations and flight schedules. EL AL exists to keep community connected and when all other airlines stopped flying to Israel, EL AL morphed from airline to lifeline.” said Simon Newton-Smith, EL AL Senior Vice President of the Americas. “With Broward County home to a strong Jewish community of 230,000, FLL was a natural choice for EL AL. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale offer passengers access to many domestic and international connections, especially with our codeshare partners Delta Air Lines and JetBlue”, Newton-Smith concluded.

Beginning this week, EL AL will operate seven weekly flights between South Florida and Israel. The new, additional flights (LY22) are based out of the new FLL gateway and are scheduled to depart Monday evenings and arrive Tuesday mornings in TLV. On Saturdays, flights depart FLL late night and arrive Sunday evenings in TLV. The outbound flights (LY21) operate on Mondays, leaving TLV in the morning, arriving in FLL in the afternoon and on Fridays, departing TLV late-nights and arriving in FLL Friday mornings.

Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Consul General of Israel in Miami stated, “The new EL AL Airlines Fort Lauderdale-Tel Aviv flights build on the strong bonds between Broward County, Florida and Israel! The two sunshine-blessed states will count on more ways to further expand the already vibrant political, commercial, cultural and tourism ties. It is only natural that the two most innovative and diverse states in their respective regions have such deep connections. More so since South Florida is home to the world’s top 4 largest Jewish population.”

FLL CEO/Director of Aviation, Mark E. Gale said, “Adding EL AL to our airport’s roster of international carriers is a feather in the cap for FLL as we strive to increase our portfolio of global airlines and destinations. Now South Floridians have a new year-round nonstop option from Fort Lauderdale for traveling to Israel for leisure or business.”

Lorin Maugery, Israel Ministry of Tourism’s Consul to South US, remarked, “I wish to congratulate all the El Al team for adding this very important service between Fort Lauderdale and Tel Aviv. Since the beginning of the year, travel has been slowly resuming and growing and this is another strong sign of this recovery of tourism to Israel.

The residents of South Florida and Florida in general have a deep connection with Israel, and this direct route makes it even easier to visit our beautiful destination.”

Since October 7, EL AL has strategically adjusted its U.S. flight schedule to maintain a vital air bridge to and from Israel. With plans to operate over 50 direct weekly flights to Israel this summer, EL AL’s expanded route network is made possible by the optimization of its Dreamliner aircrafts’ schedules and changes to the rest of its international routes. All EL AL flights from North America are operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft featuring the latest amenities including lie-flat seats in Business Class, gourmet meals, and an extensive choice of wines and beverages.

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