British Airways, Iberia to resume Israel flights next week

The return of foreign airlines to Israel is finally bringing down airfares, which have remained stubbornly high over the last two years.

By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS

British Airways and Iberia plan to resume flights to Israel on Sunday, becoming the latest carriers to restore service to Tel Aviv following Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June and this month’s ceasefire with Hamas.

The move highlights both the resurgence of the Israeli aviation sector and the reemergence of Tel Aviv as an international travel hub.

The British flag carrier will offer daily service from London’s Heathrow Airport to Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, while Iberia will renew service from Madrid, following in the footsteps of its Spanish rival Air Europa.

Scandinavian Airlines is also returning to Israel next week after nearly a decade, with thrice weekly service from Copenhagen to Tel Aviv, while the German low-cost carrier Eurowings will restart flights to Tel Aviv next week as well.

United is expanding its service to Israel next month, adding flights from its hubs in Chicago and Washington, D.C., in addition to its twice daily Newark flights, cementing its position as the U.S. carrier with the most flights to Israel.

Italy’s ITA Airlines and Air India are due to resume flights to Israel by the end of the year.

Some 60 foreign carriers are now flying to Tel Aviv compared to 80 two years ago, before the war, an Israel Airport Authority spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The return of foreign airlines to Israel is finally bringing down airfares, which have remained stubbornly high over the last two years.

Several major international carriers that have not resumed service to Tel Aviv yet, include American Airlines—the only U.S. legacy carrier not to restart flights to Israel—Emirates, which is coming back in the spring, and Cathay Pacific.

American Airlines, which is thought to be eyeing a return as it has been hiring Hebrew-speaking staff, did not return requests for comment.

The return to Israel of Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair, has been pushed off indefinitely due to a dispute with the Israel Airports Authority over regaining its past flight slots.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel has asked Oman to allow commercial flights access to its airspace en route to the Far East.

Separately, El Al announced on Tuesday that it was resuming twice-daily domestic flights from Tel Aviv to Eilat after a break of more than a decade, during which the route was only serviced by Israel’s smaller carriers.

Some 68,000 passengers were traveling through Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday on over 400 international flights, according to the Israel Airport Authority.