By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - American Airlines AAL.O said on Sunday it would resume flights to Israel in March, after the U.S. carrier halted the New York JFK to Tel Aviv route following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the two-year war in Gaza.

American said it would re-launch its flights from JFK on March 28.

U.S. rivals Delta DAL.N and United UAL.O have already resumed flights to Israel.

Many foreign carriers halted flights to Tel Aviv after October 7 and stayed away for long stretches during the past two years due to intermittent missile fire from Iran and Yemen.

That largely left flag-carrier El Al Israel Airlines ELAL.TA, and smaller Israeli airlines Arkia and Israir ISRG.TA, operating international routes, but with demand far higher than supply, airfares soared.

In the wake of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, many foreign airlines have restarted flights to Tel Aviv. British Airways, SAS, Iberia and Swiss are slated to resume flights this week.

When American resumes flights, it will become the fifth carrier to fly nonstop to Israel from the United States, along with El Al, Arkia, Delta and United.

In addition to daily flights from Newark, United later is expected to also add flights to Tel Aviv from Washington (November 2) and Chicago (November 1).

Passenger traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was up 25% over the first nine months of 2025 to 13.6 million, according to the Israel Airports Authority. El Al's market share dropped to 32.5% from 44% a year earlier.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by David Holmes)

((steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com; +972 2 632 2210; X: @StevenMScheer))