El Al flight
Miami Herald File
Israel’s El Al planned to start notifying stranded travelers Tuesday of “recovery flights” the airline will run later this week to return people to Israel.
Israel’s transportation minister said Ben-Gurion Airport would gradually open by Thursday, having closed to commercial airline traffic after the weekend attacks against Iran and retaliatory strikes on Israel.
“The airline will bring customers back home in an organized and gradual manner from more than 20 gateways, while giving priority to exceptional humanitarian and medical cases,” the carrier said in a statement on Tuesday.
South Florida is included in those 20.
“Miami is one of the key gateways that EL AL will aim to operate flights from.,” an El Al spokesperson told the Herald. “There will be further details once Ben-Gurion reopens.”
According to the airline’s statement, “Beginning [Tuesday] evening, the airline will proactively assign its customers currently abroad to Recovery Flights back to Israel, according to the date of the original flight ticket and at no additional cost.” El Al’s Customer Service Center will not handle placement on flights.
The airline hasn’t yet announced what will happen with American travelers stranded in Israel.
MORE: Flights canceled between Miami and Mideast
Before the Feb. 28 attacks by the U.S. and Israel and Iran’s response, El Al had five weekly flights between MIA and Tel Aviv. All of those flights were suspended, putting travelers in limbo.
For El Al, the cancellation of flights at MIA “is fluid and may be updated based on the situation.”
President Donald Trump on Monday told the New York Times that the U.S. and Israel could continue attacking Iran for “four to five weeks.”
Miami Herald
Vinod Sreeharsha covers tourism trends in South Florida for the Miami Herald.