Several days ago, Israeli airline El Al announced that it would be adding a number of special repatriation flights "to allow more passengers to return home." The flights depart between May 20th and May 24th from various cities in western Europe, as well as from the two larger airports serving the New York metropolitan area. Let's take a look at the flights completed thus far and what is on the schedule for the next two days.

Where is El Al flying?

The following flights and destinations were announced by El Al on Thursday, May 20th. The airline's hub of operations is based in Israel's economic and commercial center, Tel Aviv (TLV).

London Heathrow (LHR)

May 20th saw El Al flight 317 depart Tel Aviv for London Heathrow on May 20th at 13:25 local time. The return journey, flight 318, departed London at 18:12 local time and arrived in Tel Aviv at 00:44 local.

May 23rd will see flight 317 depart Tel Aviv for London Heathrow at 23:55. Flight 318 from London Heathrow is scheduled to return to Tel Aviv at 20:00.

Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

May 20th saw El Al flight 327 depart Tel Aviv for Paris at 14:10. Departing at 19:47, flight 328 departed Paris for Tel Aviv.

May 23rd will see flight 327 depart Tel Aviv for Paris at 23:55. Flight 328 will return from Paris, with a scheduled departure time of 18:55.

May 24th will see flight 327 depart Tel Aviv for Paris at 19:30. The return flight, LY328, is scheduled to leave Paris at 18:55.

A visualization of El Al's additional flights. Photo: GCMap.com

Frankfurt

The one service to Frankfurt will take place on May 23rd, with flight 357 leaving Tel Aviv at 06:00 local time. Returning the same day, flight 358 will depart Frankfurt for Tel Aviv at 10:50.

Amsterdam

May 24th will see flight 337 depart Tel Aviv for Amsterdam at 06:10. Returning the same day, flight 338 departs Amsterdam at 11:25.

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New York City

On May 21st we saw El Al flight 003 depart Tel Aviv for New York (JFK) at 01:08 local time. Tonight, May 22nd, that aircraft is scheduled to operate its return flight (LY12) at 21:50.

Tonight, May 22nd, flight 025 will depart Tel Aviv to Newark at 23:05. The return journey with flight 024 will depart Newark at 15:00 on May 23rd.

And finally, El Al will again operate flight 003 from Tel Aviv to New York JFK on May 23rd. The service is scheduled to depart at 23:55. The aircraft will depart JFK for its return journey on May 24th at 19:00.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

May 23rd is the busiest day

The busiest day for El Al in terms of these special repatriation flights is May 23rd. Indeed, the airline has scheduled four flights to depart Tel Aviv at the exact same time (23:55) on that day. The flights will take off for New York JFK, London Heathrow, Paris, and Frankfurt.

With all flights checking in and boarding at identical times, we would assume that this has been scheduled for the sake of operational efficiency.

Will you be taking any of these flights? Share your situation by leaving a comment.