New Israeli airline company debuts, offering budget air travel

TUS Airways, operates four Airbus A320 planes, and makes only short flights between Tel Aviv, Larnaca and Paphos in Cyrus, and the Greek island of Crete.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel added a fifth carrier to its list of airlines on Sunday when Transportation Minister Miri Regev signed off on a commercial license for Cyprus-based TUS Airways.

The nine-year-old company has been fully owned by an Israeli company, Holiday Lines Group, since early this year.

Along with its new name, TUS IL, the company has just brought on board the former head of Israel’s Arkia Airlines, Nir Dagan, to be its CEO.

It currently operates four Airbus A320 planes, and makes only short flights between Tel Aviv, Larnaca and Paphos in Cyrus, and the Greek island of Crete.

Once its licensing procedure is completed, TUS IL plans to both expand its fleet and the number of destinations it offers.

“We’re now focused on aligning everything with Israeli aviation regulations,” Dagan told the Israeli news website Ynet. “Progress depends on how fast we move with the Civil Aviation Authority. We’re hoping to be ready by the first quarter of 2026, with flights starting in the second quarter.”

The new routes it is preparing include several European capitals such as Berlin, Prague, Rome, Sofia and Vienna, eventually expanding to longer flights, such as to the UAE

Holiday Lines also owns the Greek-based carrier Blue Bird Airways, which flies between Tel Aviv and 14 European destinations, including several Greek islands as well as Athens and Budapest.

Both TUS and Blue Bird only briefly suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv when Hamas sparked war with Israel on October 7, 2023, and have kept Israelis flying to Europe throughout the conflict, while most major international airlines have only sporadically resumed service to the Jewish state.

The UAE’s FlyDubai and Etihad Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines, are other carriers on the short list that have not been deterred from flying to Israel throughout the war.

“We are excited to contribute to strengthening Israel’s civil aviation, expanding travel options and offering accessible, reliable service,” the company said when thanking Regev for her support.

“TUS Israel, alongside TUS Cyprus and Blue Bird, will fly to a range of destinations, enhancing competition for the benefit of Israeli consumers.”

Besides El Al, Israel’s national carrier, TUS IL will be competing with the three small Israeli airlines that focus on similar short-range destinations – Arkia, Israir, and AirHaifa.

AirHaifa, the only one to fly out of Haifa’s airport instead of Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, began operating in September and so far only flies to Eilat and Larnaca.