It is unclear why the cancellations were made so abruptly and without warning to passengers, with one flight en route from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv even landing for a stopover in New York and never resuming.
In New York alone, 400 passengers — 95 percent of them Israeli, according to consulate officials — were stranded on Monday night. Others continue to be stranded around the world.
Tower was created in 1983, with the New York-Tel Aviv route its most traveled. It also flew to Athens, Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, the Bay Area and San Juan.
According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, Israeli travel agents were not notified about the cancellations. When they called the Tower’s Tel Aviv office, they were told that passengers were to be left to their own devices.
El Al, Israel’s national carrier, tried to ease the crisis by increasing its flights between Israel and the United States and offering $400 tickets for people holding Tower tickets.