18 hrs ago
Air India to Resume Direct Delhi-Tel Aviv Flights
Air India plans to restart direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv.
The flights will begin on December 1, 2026.
There will be five flights each week, from Sunday to Thursday.
Large Boeing 777 airplanes will be used.
A flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv will take about seven hours.
The return trip will take about five hours and 45 minutes.
Israel’s tourism officials hope the flights will make visiting Israel easier for people in India.
They also want more Indian visitors to explore Israel for reasons beyond religious travel.
Air India will resume direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv on December 1, 2026.
The airline will operate five weekly non-stop flights from Sunday through Thursday using Boeing 777 aircraft.
Air India will be the only airline operating non-stop flights between India and Israel, according to Israel’s Ministry of Tourism.
Flight AI139 will leave Delhi at 5 a.m. and arrive in Tel Aviv at 8:30 a.m.; return flight AI140 will depart at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Delhi at 7:45 p.m.
Israel’s tourism authorities said the restored route could increase travel from India, which supplied nearly 70,000 visitors annually before the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Who
- Air India and the Israel Ministry of Tourism are involved, with tourism official Galit Hoffman commenting on the route.
- What
- Air India will restore non-stop flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv.
- Where
- The route will connect Delhi, India, with Tel Aviv, Israel.
- When
- Service is scheduled to resume on December 1, 2026, with five weekly flights.
- Why
- The restored connection is intended to make travel more convenient and support tourism ties between India and Israel.
Key facts
- Start date
- December 1, 2026
- Frequency
- Five flights weekly, Sunday through Thursday
- Aircraft
- Boeing 777
- Outbound flight
- AI139 departs Delhi at 5:00 a.m. and arrives in Tel Aviv at 8:30 a.m.
- Return flight
- AI140 departs Tel Aviv at 10:30 a.m. and arrives in Delhi at 7:45 p.m.
- Flight times
- Approximately seven hours to Tel Aviv and five hours 45 minutes to Delhi
- Pre-pandemic Indian visitors
- Nearly 70,000 annually
Quotes
Galit Hoffman
Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, Consul for Tourism Affairs
“We would like more Indian travellers to discover the many different sides of Israel, beyond its longstanding appeal for pilgrimage and spiritual travel... The return of the Delhi route gives us an important opportunity to build greater awareness of this diversity and encourage more Indian travellers to experience Israel in different ways.”
CNBC TV 18
“The return of Air India's direct flights is an important development for tourism between India and Israel. For Indian travellers, the restoration of a regular non-stop connection makes the journey more convenient and gives them greater flexibility when planning a visit to Israel.”
CNBC TV 18
Sources
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