An El Al plane traveling from Tel Aviv to New York was compelled to head back to Israel over the past day after running into dangerous weather conditions while crossing the Atlantic.

Roughly eight hours after departure, the flight crew chose to return when officials at Newark Airport temporarily shut down operations because of extreme weather, resulting in altered landing directives. Under the updated conditions, the aircraft could not complete a safe landing.

With reports pointing to a strengthening storm system battering the U.S. East Coast, the pilots decided to fly back to Ben Gurion Airport, placing passenger safety above all other considerations.

Following the disruption, a spokesperson for Arkia said the airline’s flights were also experiencing delays as crews awaited an improvement in weather conditions. The company said it is closely monitoring the situation in New York and remains in constant contact with airport authorities to ensure passenger safety.

At the same time, hundreds of Israeli travelers have been stranded in hotels amid significant snowfall in New York, and there is still no definite schedule for when departures and arrivals will return to normal.

{Matzav.com}