From December 1, Air India will provide direct Delhi-Tel Aviv service.
On December 1, 2026, Air India will start operating direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv, re-establishing a vital air connection between Israel and India. With five weekly flights on Boeing 777 aircraft scheduled from Sunday through Thursday, the airline will be the only one providing nonstop service between the two nations.
Flight AI139 will fly for around seven hours, leaving Delhi at 5:00 AM and arriving in Tel Aviv at 8:30 AM. On the other side, flight AI140 will take off from Tel Aviv at 10:30 AM and reach Delhi at 7:45 PM. The journey will take about five hours and forty-five minutes.
The reinstatement of the direct route coincides with the Israel Ministry of Tourism expanding its outreach to Indian tourists and stepping up its interaction with the Indian market. The Ministry is emphasising leisure, family travel, MICE, luxury, and experience tourism in addition to Israel’s longstanding appeal for pilgrimage and spiritual travel.
Galit Hoffman, Consul for Tourism Affairs, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India stated, “The return of Air India’s direct flights is an important development for tourism between India and Israel. The reinstatement of a regular nonstop connection improves travel convenience and gives Indian tourists additional options when organising a trip to Israel. India continues to be a major market for us, and the expansion of travel between our two nations is greatly aided by direct air connectivity.”
With about 70,000 Indian visitors each year, India was already a major source market for Israel prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Israel Ministry of Tourism is bolstering its presence in India in addition to restoring direct connectivity through increased promotion of Israel’s varied tourism experiences, destination training, webinars, familiarisation programs for travel agents and media, and closer ties with the travel industry.
It is anticipated that the start of Air India’s flights on December 1 will strengthen India-Israel tourist relations and increase the destination’s accessibility for new Indian traveller demographics.
