Cruz Demands U.S. Airlines Resume Israel Flights, Questions Political Motives Behind Suspension
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called for the immediate resumption of U.S. flights to Israel, suggesting that politics, rather than safety concerns, are behind certain airlines’ continued suspension of service. His comments come as major U.S. carriers have extended their flight suspensions well into 2025.
“I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point, with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern,” he said on an episode of the “Nothing but the Truth” podcast. “It was one thing right at the outset of the war when it was unclear what was going to happen. It was one thing to take a step potentially in terms of preserving safety. It’s another thing now.”
Cruz, who serves as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, pointed to regional airlines in Europe that are flying regularly to Israel, using the United Arab Emirates as an example. “Every indication is that this is a politically motivated boycott.”
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In December, he charged U.S. President Joe Biden with turning a blind eye to the stopped flights. Currently, U.S. airlines remain an outlier as most European carriers resumed flights to Israel last year. Tourism is expected to recover to about 75% of normal in 2025 with much of the remaining 15% resulting from a lack of sufficient flight schedules.
“The Biden-Harris administration was lax in pursuing why some airlines will not fly to Israel,” Cruz said. “Indeed, they may have been worse than lax, and the State Department may have become inappropriately entangled in deliberations over safety and subverted the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration].”
–JNS and Metro Voice | Used with permission
