El Al Will Consolidate South Florida Operations To Miami, Ditching Fort Lauderdale

Daniel Eleff – DansDeals

El Al launched holiday service to Fort Lauderdale in September 2023, working up to twice weekly service in April 2024.

That was great news for many of the growing Jewish communities in South Florida, which prefer flying from Fort Lauderdale rather than dealing with all of the hassle around flying out of Miami International Airport.

In a previous poll on DansDeals, some 87% of readers preferred flying out of Fort Lauderdale:

Alas, the experiment is coming to an end.

– Effective October 26, 2025, EL AL will operate five weekly flights to Miami and one weekly flight to Fort Lauderdale, with the Friday/Saturday flight shifting to Miami, leaving just the Monday flight to/from Fort Lauderdale.

– Beginning April 14, 2026, all six weekly flights to Florida will operate exclusively to Miami.

El Al says that,

“This strategic move aligns with EL AL’s long-term vision to strengthen its presence in the Americas and focus on core routes. The transition will enable increased seat availability to Florida, a unified and enhanced customer experience, seamless connectivity to a wide range of destinations across the United States and Latin America, and expanded cargo capacity between Israel and the United States.

Miami International Airport serves as a major hub, offering extensive connectivity through EL AL’s partnerships with Delta Air Lines, AEROMEXICO, LATAM, and Aerolíneas Argentinas. These collaborations provide convenient onward travel options and broaden access to key destinations throughout the continent.”

Of course, El Al partner JetBlue has hub operations in Fort Lauderdale, and that connectivity will be lost.

From rumblings that I’ve heard, the real pain point has been that Fort Lauderdale’s runway length can’t support a fully loaded 787-9 with cargo, which forced the airline to utilize the smaller 787-8 on the route.

That meant the airline was forgoing cargo space and passenger for the Fort Lauderdale flights, while the Miami flights were operated by a 787-9 with more cargo and passenger space.

It will also mean more available seats in the market, thanks to 6 weekly 787-9s.

But that’s little consolation to people who live in communities like Boca, Boynton, or West Palm Beach, who may opt for a stopover rather than fly direct out of Miami.

What do you think of this change?