8 European Airlines to Resume Flights to Israel, Despite Security Concerns

Israel Airports Authority has revealed that eight international airlines plan to partially restart services to Israel in the upcoming month, Air France, Bluebird Airways and Bulgaria Air, are planning to resume certain lines this month.

Four other airlines, such as TUS, Transavia, LOT and Vueling, aim to resume partial service during the same period. Meanwhile, Air Europa aims to restart flights to Madrid at the beginning of February, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

However, airlines have noted that their decision may change upon security developments. In this regard, they warned to postpone flights to Israel once more in case the security situation worsens, as reported by Aviation24.be.

On the other hand, airlines such as Lufthansa Group (including SWISS and Austrian airlines), Tarom, and Aegan restarted their flights this week.

Following Hamas attacks on October 7 last year, several airlines have cancelled or reduced flights to Israel since then. Approximately 50 per cent of the scheduled flights were not in operation on the day after the attack, and one-third continued to be cancelled the next day as well.

Several airlines, such as Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Air India, Turkish Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Egypt Air, Air Canada, Emirates, Air France, Dutch carrier KLM, Germany’s Lufthansa, Finland’s Finnair, Norwegian Air, Portugal’s TAP, and Polish carrier LOT, along with the Lufthansa Group (comprising SWISS, Brussels Airlines, and Austrian Airlines), either cancelled or reduced flights to Tel Aviv’s international airport, Ben Gurion Airport.

During this time, Israeli airlines such as El Al, Israir, and Arkia managed most of the limited flights.

However, several foreign airlines, such as Flydubai, Ethiopian Airlines, and Etihad Airways, continued their flights to Israel throughout the conflict, amidst the numerous cancellations.

41% Drop in Passenger Numbers at Ben-Gurion Airport

During this period, Ben-Gurion Airport saw a significant decrease in the number of foreign passengers and flights as well. Based on their monthly report, in October 2023, this airport recorded 1,172,435 international passengers, 41.25 percent less than in October 2022.

On the other hand, it recorded 9,078 international flights, which marked a decrease of 28.9 per cent compared to the same month in 2022.

During this month, a total of 1,125,956 passengers and 9,578 flights were recorded, including both international and domestic routes.

Despite continuous challenges, Tel Aviv Airport has stayed operational, and a slight rise in daily passenger traffic has been reported in recent weeks.