First United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, landed at Ben Gurion International Airport last Saturday, marking the beginning of major international carriers’ return to Israel, with several major airlines, including Delta, Ryanair, British Airways and others set resume air services in the coming month.
Foreign airlines’ flights to and from Israel have been on and off ever since Israel launched anti-terrorist operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Palestinian terror group’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Until recently, the ongoing conflict, characterized by rocket and drone assaults on Israel from Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq, as well as missile strikes from Iran, has resulted in Israeli carriers, particularly El Al, operating with a near-monopoly allowing for excessive air fares.
However, after a ceasefire agreement with Hamas has been concluded in January, many international airlines announced plans to resume flights to Israel, thus dramatically increasing the country’s projected arrival numbers.
This resumption of flight services coincides with Israel’s preparations for what is anticipated to be its busiest April in recent years, highlighted by the week-long Passover holiday.
March is anticipated to conclude with 1.4 million travelers passing through Ben Gurion International Airport, representing a 60% increase compared to the previous year, but next month, an estimated 1.8 million travelers are projected to pass through Israel’s main air hub, marking a 65% increase compared to April of the previous year, as reported by the Israel Airports Authority yesterday.
April 10 is expected to be the peak day, with approximately 80,000 passengers anticipated to transit through the airport.
US Delta Air Lines plans to relaunch its Tel Aviv-New York route on April 1.
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is set to resume operations on March 30, while Air Baltic will launch three weekly flights to Riga starting April 2.
British Airways is scheduled to start operating daily flights beginning April 5.
Iberia and the Italian airline Neos are set to resume their flight operations in the upcoming months.
KLM, the Dutch airline, will commence flights to Israel starting in June, alongside European low-cost carrier EasyJet, which will offer services to and from various destinations.
Air Canada plans to operate four flights per week beginning June 8.
Altogether, around 50 airlines will provide air service to and from Israel in the upcoming months.