‘Politically motivated boycott’: Top U.S. senator asks why U.S. airlines are still refusing to fly to Israel

JERUSALEM – Almost since the start of the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, various U.S. airlines – along with other major European carriers – have had extended periods of several months where they have refused to fly to and from the Jewish state.

While this has had the effect of burgeoning El Al – Israel’s national carrier’s – profits, it has caused consternation among Israel’s defenders on Capitol Hill, who see this as part of the effort to delegitimize the country and punish it for its continued war against Hamas.

Indeed, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz R-Texas, who chairs the influential Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has called on U.S. airlines to rethink the services they suspended last summer amid an escalation of the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Fears the Iranian-backed Islamist group would target Ben-Gurion International Airport outside the central Israeli city of Lod proved to be unfounded, as the IDF largely managed to contain and destroy a large percentage of the group’s longer-range missiles. If the airport had come under significant attack one may understand the flight suspension; it didn’t, and yet U.S. airlines are continuing to act as if the hostilities are still at their height.

“I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern,” @tedcruz said.https://t.co/l07iZm78Jw

— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) January 10, 2025

According to Jewish Insider, Cruz made his comments on the “Nothing But The Truth” podcast, hosted by NORPAC New York’s co-president, Trudy Stern.

“I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern. It was one thing right at the outset of the war when it was unclear what was going to happen,” Cruz told Stern.

“It was one thing to take a step potentially in terms of preserving safety. It’s another thing now. Right now today, El Al is flying every day. You have regional airlines in Europe that are flying regularly to Israel. The UAE’s airline flies three times a day to Israel. And I got to say, every indication is that this is, this is a politically motivated boycott.

“One example is if you look at the largest of the flight attendant unions, they have been vigorously anti-Israel, calling for boycotts of Israel, and sadly, speaking out in support of the antisemitic protests on college campuses here in the United States. I think it’s time for the American airlines to return to flying to and from Israel,” he continued.

Cruz, who only assumed his new congressional role 24 hours prior to his interview, has jurisdiction over the airline industry, and he made it clear he would be pushing for a resumption of flights from the main U.S. carriers.

The Republican senator is not the only lawmaker to have been perplexed by the Delta, United, and American Airlines’ reticence to fly to Israel. In August, U.S. Rep. Richie Torres, D-N.Y., posted a letter on X, which he had sent to each of the CEOs of those three airlines.

I am calling upon the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, and United to end the unilateral + indefinite suspensions of air travel to Israel. The operative words here are ‘unilateral’ and ‘indefinite.’

Air travel suspensions should have time limits and FAA approval. Instead of… pic.twitter.com/J1uhKGg98k

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) August 29, 2024

In his missive, he described that their refusal to fly had – at that time – made El Al, the only viable option, which made air travel to Israel “less available, and less affordable, putting customers at the mercy of a de facto monopoly that can easily gouge prices with impunity.” This was indeed a criticism of Israel’s national carrier; seeing how for months there were literally no other options if people wanted to fly in and out of Israel.

“It is one thing to temporarily suspend air travel to Israel on security grounds as defined by the FAA. But to unilaterally suspend air travel indefinitely until mid-2025, as American Airlines has done, has the practical effect of a boycott.”

Less than a month after Torres’ intervention, U.S. Rep. Marcus Molinaro R-N.Y., followed up by saying the FAA was stonewalling him after he demanded answers on what guidance it had given to U.S. airlines amidst their ongoing refusal to fly to Israel.