Israel's national airline, El Al, halted flights to Canada when the pandemic broke out globally in March 2020. But more than a year later, on June 28, 2021, El Al quietly started service up again on the Toronto–Tel Aviv route. On the first planeload, they handed out teddy bears to kids. There were nearly 100 empty seats.

The next flight is scheduled to depart from Toronto today—Monday, July 12—but with Israel’s travel rules still in flux, and the Canadian border still closed to international tourists, it will be a while before we see the four full El Al flights per week that used to run from Toronto in the summers before COVID-19.

Nonetheless, news that El Al flights have resumed is a big deal. On today's episode, Dinah Kutner, the general manager of El Al in Toronto, joins to explain what the resumption of service is looking like and what the future holds for Israeli travel.

What we talked about:

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.