United Airlines announced Thursday it will begin flying nonstop to Tel Aviv from its hub at Washington Dulles International Airport three times a week beginning next spring.
The new flight, which is subject to government approval and scheduled to begin May 22, 2019, will be the first operated by a U.S. carrier between the two cities. United will operate the new flights with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
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The new route to Tel Aviv marks the carrier’s fourth flight to Israel. It currently operates twice-daily service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Tel Aviv and daily nonstop service between San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
United’s new Washington Dulles-Tel Aviv service will offer passengers connections to almost 70 destinations throughout the U.S., including Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas and Miami.
The carrier has continuously served Israel since August 1999. The Middle East destination is currently in the midst of a tourism boom, reporting record-breaking visitors numbers earlier this year.
“As we begin celebrating 20 years of service in Israel, we want to thank our customers and employees who have helped make United the top U.S. airline serving Israel,” said United’s vice president of International Network, Patrick Quayle, in a statement. “We thank the Israeli government for its ongoing support and partnership. We look forward to continuing to serve Israel with this new service for our customers traveling between the U.S. capital and one of the most advanced science and technology sectors in the world.”
In his own statement, Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin said the new route “opens many more opportunities for both countries to continue to build strong relationships while growing business and expanding tourism.”
Thursday’s announcement comes just days after United revealed it was launching new daily service between Washington Dulles and Miami and expanding service from Washington, D.C. to Orlando and Tampa.
