El Al began limited flights from Israel to the United States on Monday to help thousands of people get home after being stranded as missiles to and from Iran closed airspace.

Dubbed “rescue flights,” Israel’s national carrier started leaving Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on June 23 with one flight each to New York-JFK and Los Angeles International Airport. Service to and from Miami International Airport remains suspended.

Over the next day, on June 24, El Al will operate two more flights to New York-JFK, one to Newark and one to Los Angeles, said Elie Rosenfeld, an airline spokesperson. These flights will continue in the coming days until normal Israeli airspace is restored, he said. The airline will also add cities in Europe and Asia.

People living or based in South Florida but now in Israel can board the flights, but passengers must first register on El Al’s website before getting picked. That’s because the airline is limited by Israeli government approval to transporting 50 people per flight.

At least 25,000 flight requests have been made on El Al’s website since the night of June 21, when registration opened, Rosenfeld said. Chosen passengers will get email updates from El Al. But they won’t be able to return to Israel for at least 30 days from the date of departure, according to the airline.

El Al has also operated several flights from Europe and the U.S. to Tel Aviv since June 19, to bring back people who live in Israel.

Other rescue flights

The El Al flights to the U.S. and elsewhere come as other private groups, at least one in Florida, have helped rescue travelers.

Tampa-based and veteran-backed Grey Bull Rescue has worked with the state of Florida to rescue 645 people although they may not all be from South Florida, said Ashley Pontius, a spokesperson for the organization. The most recent flights arrived the morning of June 20. The next one is scheduled for the morning of June 24 from Cyprus, she said. The requests are being made by families, veterans and college students.

“This operation remains ongoing, with rescue requests continuing to come in hourly,” Pontius said.

Last week, the U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Israel to Level 4, its highest level, and is warning U.S. citizens to not travel to the country “due to armed conflict, terrorism, and civil unrest.” The West Bank and Gaza are also under the “Do Not Travel” Level 4 advisory.

El Al flight details from Israel

On June 23, El Al gave no indication of when flights to and from South Florida would resume, given the volatility of world events. For now, service is suspended until at least June 27.

If your flight from Israel was canceled between June 13 an June 30, 2025 and you were reassigned to one of the limited flights, you won’t have to pay an additional fee, assuming your flight is within the same region including Europe, the U.S. or the Far East, the airline said.

For all other passengers including tourists, humanitarian and medical cases, El Al has set one-way fares: Larnaca, $99; Athens, $149; Rome, Paris and London, $299; New York and Los Angeles, $795; Bangkok, $695.

Other carriers in the region have been less affected.

Emirates has continued flights between Dubai and Miami. And Turkish Airways continues to operate between MIA and Istanbul. Qatar Airways has canceled some flights.

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—Miami Herald staff writer Michelle Marchante contributed to this report.

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