Update: American has cancelled their flight to Tel Aviv for tonight and extended their waiver period.
- American is waiving change fees and the difference in fare on tickets to or from Tel Aviv from May 12-25. You can change to flights through June 15th without any difference in fare. If you change to flights after May 17th change fees will be waived, but you will owe the difference in fare.
- Delta is waiving change fees and the difference in fare on tickets to or from Tel Aviv from May 11-13. You can change to flights through May 17th without any difference in fare. If you change to flights after May 17th change fees will be waived, but you will owe the difference in fare.
- El Al is waiving change fees and the difference in fare on tickets to or from Tel Aviv from May 11-19. You can change to flights through May 31st without any difference in fare. If you change to flights after May 31st change fees will be waived, but you will owe the difference in fare.
- United is waiving change fees and the difference in fare on tickets to or from Tel Aviv from May 11-25. You can change to flights that depart through June 15th (the return can be later) without any difference in fare. If you change to flights after June 15th change fees will be waived, but you will owe the difference in fare.
Of course if your flight is cancelled by the airline, you can request a full refund. That’s why I always recommend waiting until near flight time before making a change or cancelling if you prefer a refund.
Bear in mind that if you received a permit to travel to Israel, you must do so within the allotted time frame, or else you will have to request another permit.
Roundup of cancelled flights:
- 5/11 United flight 140 from Chicago to Tel Aviv
- 5/11 Delta flight 232 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/11 Delta flight 234 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/11 United flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/12 American flight 146 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/12 United flight 91 from Tel Aviv to Newark
- 5/12 United flight 84 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/12 United flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/12 United flight 954 from San Francisco to Tel Aviv
- 5/12 Delta flight 233 from Tel Aviv to JFK
- 5/12 Delta flight 235 from Tel Aviv to JFK
- 5/13 United flight 84 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/13 United flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/13 Delta flight 232 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/13 Delta flight 234 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/13 United flight 141 from Tel Aviv to Chicago
- 5/13 United flight 85 from Tel Aviv to Newark
- 5/13 United flight 91 from Tel Aviv to Newark
- 5/13 American flight 146 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/13 American flight 145 from Tel Aviv to JFK
- 5/14 United flight 84 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/14 United flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv
- 5/14 United flight 140 from Chicago to Tel Aviv
- 5/14 American flight 146 from JFK to Tel Aviv
- 5/14 American flight 145 from Tel Aviv to JFK
- 5/14 United flight 955 from Tel Aviv to San Francisco
- 5/14 United flight 85 from Tel Aviv to Newark
- 5/14 United flight 91 from Tel Aviv to Newark
Expect more cancellations to follow. If you are trying to fly between the US and Israel this week, El Al may be your best bet.
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62 Comments On "AA, El Al, Delta And United Announce Change And Fare Difference Waiver For Travel To Or From Israel; Roundup Of Cancelled Flights"
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If the flight is cancelled will they give refunds?
Yes, the DOT requires airlines to offer full refunds if they cancel a flight, as long as you didn’t cancel your ticket before the airline cancelled.
Until when can you cancel a flight? I have an AA ticket tomorrow.
Until the time of departure.
Thanks!
Can be cancelled online through Chase and Amex up until departure? Or within 24 hours has to be done through AA?
I waited yesterday until they cancelled AA146, I called AA to get a refund they processed it and then today I got this email:
Your trip is non-refundable, but don’t worry. The unused value of your ticket is safe, and you’ll be able to use it toward future travel.
When you are ready to rebook call 800-433-7300 for help.
When you rebook your trip keep in mind:
The same passenger must travel on the rebooked ticket.
Travel must be completed before your ticket expires.
Travel agency tickets will need to be rebooked with the travel agency, booking source or the airline that made your reservation.
Other fees may apply.
Thanks for choosing American Airlines.
Do I file a complaint with the DOT?
Call them back.
Will this also work if booked with Aeroplan points ?
No, but try calling Air Canada to say what they say.
I think aeroplan always lets you cancel for free
Delta just cancelled my flight for tonight and I got a refund!
Exclamation mark is for canceled flight or for refund ?
Will this work if I book flight not or only if previously booked ?
Can you change of you already checked in?
Here goes ELAL:
יום רביעי 12 במאי 2021
א’ סיוון תשפ”א
סוכן יקר,
אל על עומדת בקשר רצוף עם גורמי הביטחון ורשות שדות התעופה ופועלת בהתאם להנחיות נוכח המצב הבטחוני.
בנוסף למדיניות הגמישה הקיימת בשינויים וביטולים של כרטיסי טיסה.
אל על תאפשר ללקוחות אשר מועד המראתם עד ה- 19.05.21 לשנות למועד חלופי עד לסוף חודש מאי 2021 ללא הפרשי מחיר ועל בסיס מקום פנוי.
אנו ממליצים להתעדכן בשינויים בלוח הטיסות באתר אל על ובמערכות שלכם.
על מנת לאפשר ללקוחותינו לשמור על קשר עם משפחותיהם גם במהלך הטיסה, אל על תאפשר שימוש ללא עלות בשרות ה- WhatsApp בטיסות בהן יש WIFI .
שנדע ימים בטוחים ושקטים.
סניף ישראל
_From ELAL:_
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
1 Sivan 5741
Dear Agent,
El Al is in constant contact with the security forces and the Airports Authority and acts in accordance with the guidelines in light of the security situation.
In addition to the existing flexible policy on changes and cancellations of airline tickets, El Al will allow customers whose departure date is until 19.05.21 to change to an alternative date until the end of May 2021 without price differences, and on the basis of available space.
We recommend keeping up to date with changes in the flight schedule on the EL AL website and in your systems.
In order to allow our customers to keep in touch with their families even during the flight, El Al will allow free use of the *WhatsApp* service on flights that have WiFi.
Let us know safe and quiet days.
Israel branch
I am on AA146 today from JFK-TLV. I am hoping they cancel so that I can get a refund. What are the chances they cancel and what time would they actually cancel?
I’d say the odds of a cancellation are at least 75%.
They cancelled last night’s flight at 9pm.
The issue with them cancelling at 9 PM is that I am connecting from another city in the USA and so the trip begins at around 4:00 PM EST so that’s my deadline to know if they are cancelling or not.
Welcome to flying American.
Yet another reason why I prefer United.
That is crazy. Do they always do that? United cancelled much earlier so you can make plans around that and doesn’t pretend to be flying AND their change waiver is for much longer and much more flexible.
Yes, American is very bad at that. I’ve been a victim several times to their last minute shenanigans.
Your flight’s been cancelled
The flight was just cancelled.
Flight AA146 from JFK to TLV on May13 at 12:15AM has been canceled. We’re working to rebook you and will send an update soon.
I am a united 1K member and I have a flight scheduled for tomorrow EWR to TLV as it looks the flight will be cancelled so I called the 1K desk and ask to be switch for a flight for today even with a stop and the agent said she found a flight with Turkish JFK – TLV via stop in Istanbul but due to the flight not being cancelled yet I will need to pay difference in fair even when I ask for a supervisor I was told that they can only put me on there own metal without difference in fare.
Tomorrows flights are cancelled.
It’s cancelled.
And that’s why I always say not to cancel before the flight time!
Given the situation, that’s not a very generous travel waiver period. I’m glad Covid already cancelled my TLV trip for next week!
United’s waiver certainly makes more sense than AA/Delta’s stingy waiver.
Glad to see AA quickly adopt UA’s more reasonable waiver. When the airport is closed and the city is under rocket attack, it shouldn’t be a hard call.
When did Delta cancel its no change fee on International Flights policy?
will delta cancel there jfk-tlv tonight?
Everyone should know that, that if they get a different flight, they will need to fill out new travel waiver information, and may need an updated covid test if they’re now leaving more than 72 hours after their previous covid test.
Delta in TLV told me this morning (Israel time) that all flts in and out of TLV are cancelled till 16 may. But that will change daily
Currently on ua85 which was diverted to Frankfurt still sitting on the ground for over 2 hours, what are my options in terms of a partial refund etc…?
What’s the stated reason for the diversion?
Sorry for the delay in responding, I only got the wifi to work now.
All we got told was that the flight crew is going to change there, and that’s what happened though it took a long time.
“UA 85: On the way to Newark, your United flight will be making a brief stop in Frankfurt to assign new crew members for the remainder of the journey. During this time, you will remain on board while your new crew prepares for departure and our ground team refuels your plane. We expect to arrive in Newark at 7:13 pm. Thank you for your understanding – we look forward to welcoming you on board.”
I have an american airlines ticket can i get change fee waived even if i cancel before they do?
Typically there are no change fees.
can it be done all the way till actual departure (i still don’t have my ishur…)
Yes
What’s the likelihood of El Al canceling their flight as well?
Highly doubt El Al will cancel.
If there’s rockets flying how can elal fly? My husband needs to fly tonight with elal and wish they would cancel. I’m so scared.
If there are rockets they will have the plane circle or divert the flight to Cyprus until they stop.
They won’t take any risks. The reason the US carriers are cancelling is because their crews don’t want to overnight in Israel now. That’s not an issue with El Al.
AA extended travel waiver through June 15 buy they still refuse to cancel AA146 for tonight.
just got text that this flight AA146 for tonight was cancelled.
AA145 Friday May 14 cancelled
AA 146 JFK-TLV May 13 1215am is now cancelled as well
In Israel now and scheduled to fly AA back to US this motzei shabbat – chances that I know before shabbos seem pretty slim. Will be interesting to see what AA will do since I bought a webspecial mileage fare and already used my outbound ticket to TLV.
I got a email the flight was canceled
DONT CANCEL! WE NEED YOU MORE THAN EVER HERE!
For the support, emotional, financial, and more.
Just received a canceled fligth email for flight from TLV to EWR Friday 14th
would air lines reduce their price on flights to israel due to the current situation ?
all UA flights on Friday 5/14 from US also canceled
meaning that 5/15 leaving israel will not be flying….
“American is waiving change fees and the difference in fare on tickets to or from Tel Aviv from May 12-25. You can change to flights through June 15th without any difference in fare. If you change to flights after May 17th change fees will be waived, but you will owe the difference in fare.”
Not clear to which flights can i change without any difference in fare, June 15th or May 17th?
Delta’s Israel reservations office is very helpful. Unlike the US, you can actually speak to a person pretty quickly. 03 513 8000. You will need a new Covid test within 72 hrs before your actual departure, not your originally scheduled departure. Plan accordingly.
HaShem wants us to celebrate Shavuot here.
I have a flight with UA next week back to Israel. Is there any way to get them to put me on an El Al flight if they cancel?
I have had a few flights cancelled on me because I’m trying to get back there myself. I asked an agent this very question and she said she couldn’t rebook me on El Al. Let me know if you figure out how please
It has been done and possible. All it takes is a willing agent…