EL AL Israel Airlines launched its inaugural flight on its 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Ft. Lauderdale to Tel Aviv this week. The first flight was launched with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Ft. Lauderdale airport.
The new, non-stop service between Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport and Tel Aviv, brings El Al’s weekly South Florida schedule to seven flights, just in time for Pesach and the busy summer travel season.
“In response to increased demand, EL AL is expanding its U.S. operations and flight schedules. EL AL exists to keep community connected and when all other airlines stopped flying to Israel, EL AL morphed from airline to lifeline.” said Simon Newton-Smith, EL AL Senior Vice President of the Americas. “With Broward County home to a strong Jewish community of 230,000, FLL was a natural choice for EL AL. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale offer passengers access to many domestic and international connections, especially with our codeshare partners Delta Air Lines and JetBlue,” Newton-Smith concluded.
Beginning this week, EL AL will operate seven weekly flights between South Florida and Israel, including its flights from Miami to Tel Aviv.
Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Consul General of Israel in Miami stated, “The new EL AL Airlines Fort Lauderdale-Tel Aviv flights build on the strong bonds between Broward County, Florida and Israel! The two sunshine-blessed states will count on more ways to further expand the already vibrant political, commercial, cultural and tourism ties. It is only natural that the two most innovative and diverse states in their respective regions have such deep connections. More so since South Florida is home to the world’s top 4 largest Jewish population.”
Rabbi Yossi Rapp, Director of Chabad on Air, spoke at the event, noting El Al has been a lifeline for many during this time of war, and has been a great support to IDF soldiers who need to fly for medical attention, to hostage families, as well as to regular passengers, enabling them to continue to fly to Israel when many other airlines have suspended flights to Israel.
He also inaugurated the new Chabad on Air Tefillin stand at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and was on hand to affix Mezuzahs to the El Al personnel offices at the Ft. Lauderdale airport as well.
Also in attendance were Broward officials from Mark Gale, the airport president and CEO, County Administrator Monica Cepero, Commissioner Mark Bogen, who said he has been an El Al customer since 2019, and Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale — all vowed to support the airline and its newly inaugurated service.
Looking forward to my flight next month from Fort Lauderdale