Looking for cheap flights to Israel? Don’t hold your breath.

Despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah and Israel’s military gains in Gaza, Americans hoping for affordable flights to Tel Aviv face a harsh reality as El Al Airlines maintains its iron grip on direct routes to Israel, with little relief in sight for sky-high fares.

El Al now commands a staggering 71% of all passenger traffic through Ben Gurion airport on U.S. routes, operating without competition as major American carriers remain conspicuously absent. As Delta Airlines teases an April 2025 return to Israeli skies, their fares offer little solace. A round-trip Delta ticket from Tel Aviv to New York in June 2025 will set travelers back $1,732 – over $300 more than El Al’s fare for the same route.

Whiel El Al’s profits having soared post October 7, CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia maintains that enhanced security measures and global supply chain disruptions leave the airline little choice but to maintain current pricing levels, even as they face mounting criticism for what many view as price gouging on North American routes.

“We managed to find the balance between our commitment to shareholders and our responsibility to the State of Israel and the Israeli public. El Al is a public company, and all its reports are transparent,” Ganancia tells Globes.

“Just as during the Covid period, all conditions were against us, we have also faced challenges in the current situation. At the beginning of the war, we even issued a profit warning, because it was unclear where things would develop.”

Meanwhile, European heavyweights such as Air France, Lufthansa, and Italy’s ITA have extended their flight suspensions, crushing hopes for even indirect travel options. A grassroots effort by Israeli tech leaders to charter private flights has stalled, while domestic carriers Israir and Arkia remain grounded by regulatory red tape.

Industry insiders predict that the situation could shift with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but for now, El Al’s monopoly keeps the prospect of affordable flights to the Holy Land for Americans a distant dream.