New York JFK to Tel Aviv Flights (JFK to TLV): Nonstops, Flight Time and Ben Gurion Arrival

Who flies JFK to Tel Aviv nonstop

JFK to Tel Aviv is served nonstop, and El Al is the airline most associated with it. As of recent schedules, El Al flies several nonstops a week from JFK to Ben Gurion, many of them overnight departures, and Delta also operates a nonstop from its JFK hub. American has flown the route in the past but has not been a steady presence, so check who is actually flying on your dates.

New York is the only US city with nonstops to Israel from two airports. United and El Al fly from Newark, and for travellers in New Jersey or Manhattan's west side that can be the easier departure. From Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, JFK is usually the quicker airport to reach.

One-stop itineraries are plentiful and sometimes cheaper. The common connections are through Paris with Air France, Frankfurt or Munich with Lufthansa, Zurich with Swiss, Vienna with Austrian, Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and London with British Airways. A connection typically adds three to six hours and another security line.

Flight time and distance

JFK to Ben Gurion is about 5,650 miles (roughly 9,100 km) in a straight line. Eastbound flights typically take 10 to 11 hours with a tailwind. Westbound, Tel Aviv to New York runs longer, usually 11.5 to 12.5 hours, because the flight pushes against the jet stream.

Most eastbound departures leave JFK in the evening or around midnight and arrive in Israel in the afternoon or evening of the next day. The daytime departures that exist land very late in Israel, which matters if you are then driving to Jerusalem or the north.

Departing from JFK

Delta and El Al both use Terminal 4 at JFK, the large international terminal with the longest security lines in the airport at peak hours. The AirTrain connects all terminals and links to the Long Island Rail Road and E train at Jamaica, and to the A train at Howard Beach. From Midtown, the LIRR to Jamaica plus the AirTrain is usually the most predictable journey, while a taxi can take over an hour in rush hour.

Israel-bound flights involve extra screening. El Al carries out its own security interview before you reach the check-in counter, and Delta's Tel Aviv flights usually have additional document checks at the gate. Arriving three hours before departure is realistic, and more if you are checking several bags during a holiday period.

Kosher and special meals need to be requested in advance, usually at least a day before, through the airline's website or app.

Landing at Ben Gurion and reaching Tel Aviv or Jerusalem

Flights from JFK arrive at Terminal 3, Ben Gurion's main international terminal. You will walk a long way to passport control, receive a printed blue entry slip instead of a stamp, and then collect bags in a hall that gets crowded when flights from New York and Europe land together.

The train is the best way into the city for most travellers:

• To Tel Aviv: Israel Railways from the Terminal 3 station reaches HaHagana, HaShalom and Savidor Center in about 15 to 20 minutes, with frequent departures through the day and night on weekdays.
• To Jerusalem: the fast line reaches Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon station in roughly half an hour.
• Taxi: official taxis leave from a rank outside the terminal and run on the meter; central Tel Aviv is 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic.
• Shared taxi (sherut): useful to Jerusalem and the only public option on Shabbat, when trains and buses do not run.

If you are renting a car, the rental desks are in the terminal and the lots are a short shuttle away. Driving in Tel Aviv at rush hour is slow, so many visitors collect the car on the day they leave the city rather than on arrival.

Best time to fly and when to book

Demand on this route follows the Jewish calendar. Passover in spring, the June to August summer break, and the autumn holidays from Rosh Hashanah through Sukkot are the busiest weeks, and seats from New York get scarce months out. December's Hanukkah and winter break is another peak. On Yom Kippur the airport closes completely.

November and the period from January to early March are the quietest, with mild temperatures and the occasional rainy day in Tel Aviv. For a holiday trip, book as far ahead as you can and expect little flexibility on dates; outside those weeks, two to three months of lead time is usually enough.

Entry rules and documents

As of recent rules, US passport holders can enter Israel for short tourist stays without a visa, but Israel has been introducing an electronic travel authorisation for visa-exempt nationals. Check the official Israeli government site before you travel and complete any registration it asks for; airlines can deny boarding without it. Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond arrival.

If you plan to travel onward to neighbouring countries, read the current entry rules for each one, because policies on Israeli entry records change. The US State Department advisory for Israel has also changed frequently, so read the current version before booking anything non-refundable.

Time zones and jet lag

Tel Aviv is seven hours ahead of New York for most of the year, dropping briefly to six hours in the spring and autumn weeks when the two countries switch daylight saving on different dates. Eastbound is the harder direction. You land in the Israeli afternoon or evening after a short, broken night and will wake early for two or three days. Daylight, a walk on the seafront and a normal local bedtime help more than napping.

The return lands in New York in the afternoon or evening after a long day in the air. Most people adjust within a couple of days.

What travellers on this route get wrong

People underestimate the time Terminal 4 security and the extra Israel screening take, and arrive as if for a domestic flight. They land on a Friday evening without realising the trains have stopped for Shabbat. And they forget that Newark has its own nonstops with United and El Al, which sometimes have seats on dates when JFK is sold out. Checking both New York airports, and giving yourself three hours at JFK, solves most of it.