Lufthansa group announces return to Israel’s skies

Delta Air Lines resumed daily nonstop service from New York’s JFK Airport about two weeks ago, while Dutch carrier KLM has restarted its Amsterdam-Tel Aviv route with outbound flights making a brief stopover in Cyprus.

By Jewish Breaking News

The Lufthansa Group will gradually resume flights to Tel Aviv starting June 23, marking the latest major European carrier to restore service following the Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport that triggered widespread flight suspensions nearly a month ago.

The German airline group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, announced on Friday that their decision followed “a comprehensive situation assessment and coordination with relevant authorities.” Lufthansa is Germany’s flag carrier and Europe’s largest airline.

Meanwhile, United Airlines resumed on Jan 5, moving up its timeline from its original June 13 target date.

Delta Air Lines resumed daily nonstop service from New York’s JFK Airport about two weeks ago, while Dutch carrier KLM has restarted its Amsterdam-Tel Aviv route with outbound flights making a brief stopover in Cyprus.

Other carriers that have restored service include Latvia’s airBaltic, which resumed Thursday, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Air France, and Transavia, which resumed Friday.

However, several major carriers have extended suspensions well beyond initial projections. British Airways has pushed back resumption until July 31, while Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has extended its suspension through the end of July.

Italian carrier ITA Airways confirmed it won’t resume flights before June 22, and Spain’s Iberia Express has extended cancellations through today.

Air Canada announced it will not resume flights to Israel in June as previously planned, while easyJet has pushed back its return until June 30.

Additional carriers maintaining longer suspensions include Air Seychelles (until at least August), LOT Polish Airlines (suspension ends today), and Air India (through June 19).

The disruptions stem from last month’s Houthi missile strike near Ben Gurion Airport that left a crater visible from the control tower.

Despite several attempts to intercept, the missile penetrated Israel’s defense systems injuring six people. Israel has since responded with multiple airstrikes on Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport, which the IDF said “fully disabled the airport.”

Despite the ongoing disruptions, some international carriers including Flydubai continue operating with eight daily flights, while Israeli carriers El Al and Arkia have maintained service.

Arkia announced it will begin weekly direct flights to the Seychelles starting June 20, following Air Seychelles’ decision to halt service to Israel.

While passengers may not be entitled to monetary compensation during wartime security emergencies, airlines generally remain obligated to offer replacement tickets or full refunds, plus assistance services such as hotel accommodation and meals.