Because TLV works different. We know that, I said this countless times, when you are writing you expect them to be canceled, your readers do the same, and panic.
As a TA, I can say those few "panic" weeks were the hardest work days I remember. And sure enough within minutes of each DDMS post, the call volume got out of control with countless concerned parents, students etc.
I'm surprised you were so sure that flights would continue to operate. Quite frankly I was not. The carriers were zeroing out one after the other and then cancelling. I can't seem to remember the last time flights were completely zeroed out and then the airline reloaded inventory. Even if you believe "TLV is different" and has a different track record, life as we know has changed so much by the unpredictability of this virus. Personally if I had child abroad, I would have done my utmost to bring them home.
I feel bad about the money people spent in the mad rush to get back to the US (for the sake of transparency, I am not affiliated with the agency who chartered the flights). So many shared that they really could not afford the added expense. Though I resented all the panicky calls at the time, I would never take achrayus to tell someone that flights would definitely continue operating in spite of the consistently worsening circumstances.
I feel impelled to share- I had one student who was planning on staying until the end of the year. When the panicking started, the father called me to change his child's ticket to return to the US immediately. Recently I was so pained to see this very father's name among a list of those who were niftar from corona. At the same time I marveled at the hashgacha that this child was able to spend the last little bit home with their father...