Lufthansa group breaks European airline freeze on Israel

Round-trip tickets from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv through Lufthansa start around €800 with peak summer demand pushing most fares above €1,200.

By Jewish Breaking News

Europe’s largest airline group is heading back to Israel, with Lufthansa resuming Tel Aviv flights next month.

Lufthansa suspended all flights to Israel on May 4 when a Houthi missile struck near Ben Gurion Airport, with the suspension extended during June’s twelve-day Israel-Iran conflict.

During Operation Rising Lion, Israel targeted Iranian nuclear facilities across 27 provinces while Tehran retaliated with over 550 ballistic missiles and 1,000 explosive drones before President Trump brokered the June 24 ceasefire.

The German aviation giant officially restarted partial operations to Ben Gurion Airport on August 1, with Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines resuming flights from Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna. Brussels Airlines will follow on August 13, collectively offering 44 weekly flights during August.

However, subsidiary SWISS will not resume flights until September 29, citing “operational reasons” while Eurowings, which operates direct routes to Hamburg and Düsseldorf, similarly won’t return until late October.

“The decision to renew flights to Israel followed a comprehensive situation assessment and coordination with relevant authorities,” Lufthansa Group stated, echoing the cautious approach taken by major carriers since October 7.

During Lufthansa’s absence, Israeli carriers El Al, Israir and Arkia dominated European routes alongside select foreign airlines including Flydubai, Etihad Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.

The constrained supply has kept European airfares elevated. Round-trip tickets from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv through Lufthansa start around €800 with peak summer demand pushing most fares above €1,200, according to Globes.

Meanwhile, other European carriers remain divided on Israel operations. Air France restored daily Boeing 777-300 service in July, while British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet extended suspensions through October 25.

KLM maintains indefinite suspension with no announced return date.

As for North American travelers, United Airlines resumed service on July 22, operating two daily flights from Newark using Boeing 787-10 aircraft.

Delta Air Lines plans September 1 resumption from JFK, while American Airlines has avoided the route for nearly two years without announcing return plans.