Air India will resume flights to Israel on Thursday, Oct. 1, after a suspension of more than seven months, restoring the only direct air link between Israel and India.
The Indian carrier will operate five weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Delhi, Sunday through Thursday, using Boeing 777 aircraft.
Air India to resume Israel flights Oct. 1 after more than seven months
(Photo: Markus Mainka / shutterstock)
Flight AI139 will depart Delhi at 5 a.m. and land at Ben Gurion Airport at 8:30 a.m., after a flight of about seven hours. The return flight, AI140, will leave Tel Aviv at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Delhi at 7:45 p.m., after about five hours and 45 minutes.
According to Air India’s representative office in Israel, the current schedule is planned to remain in effect through March 27, 2027.
The restored route will also expand travel options from Israel to destinations farther east. Air India offers onward connections from Delhi to a range of destinations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.
Air India suspended its Israel service on Feb. 28, when the war with Iran began and Israeli airspace was closed. That same day, flight AI139 from Delhi to Tel Aviv, which was already en route, was forced to turn back and was diverted to Mumbai.
The airline subsequently suspended operations in the region, and the Tel Aviv route remained grounded even after some of its other Middle East services resumed.
The suspension was extended several times. In late May, Air India said it would not return to Ben Gurion Airport before the end of July because of the regional security situation.
The carrier had already gone through several rounds of suspensions and resumptions in Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. Air India restored its Tel Aviv-Delhi route in early 2026, only to suspend it again less than two months later.