Foreign airlines flocking back to Israel following ceasefire

In just three weeks, 14 leading airlines have announced the resumption of operations in Israel with the addition of hundreds of weekly flights at Ben Gurion Airport. Service renewal announcements began with low-cost carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair, then EasyJet, which announced the addition of flights to Europe. Then, the Lufthansa group, which made it easier to fly between Israel and major European cities such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna, had limited access.

Other major European airlines such as British Airways, Air France, and even Delta Air Lines, which, being a long-haul US carrier, we expect will all return – all of them will soon follow. Air India, which was the last Asian airline to join the latest wave of cancellations, also announced that it will resume operations in March.

The return to Israel of all these airlines opens a window of opportunity to purchase tickets at more attractive prices. The reason is that companies returning to the market tend to market the first seats on each flight at low prices, according to the pricing algorithms used in the airline industry, with the more seats sold on the plane, the higher the fare. This is why airlines that gained confidence during the war priced their tickets higher, because the availability of remaining seats on flights was lower because the Israelis preferred them to carriers that were quicker to cancel; Trips to Israel when the security situation escalates.

Prices do not fall evenly

The most dramatic news for Israeli passengers and the prices they pay is probably the return of Air India. Since it stopped services completely in August, there were no direct flights from Tel Aviv to India, with the need to fly via the UAE or Europe.

Return fares now start at $428, and Air India’s operations will also increase in supplying flights to East Asia, where Delhi Airport has been an important connecting hub for flights. It will compete with Emirates Airlines, which provides Israelis with access to Dubai and Abu Dhabi as hubs.

Low-cost airlines are also back with attractive fares, and you can find direct return tickets to various destinations in Europe at particularly affordable prices, some for less than $200.

Other European airlines, such as Air France, have higher prices. For example, the starting price for a round-trip flight to Paris is $500 in February, and on British Airways, the return fare to London starts at $450, when it returns in April.

On the other hand, flights between Israel and the United States did not see a drop in prices. In recent weeks, both airlines have announced they will be operating routes to North America. The first is Arkia, which will operate three weekly flights using charter aircraft to New York from February, and for which return tickets can be purchased from $1,198. The second company that will advise Tel Aviv-New York flights in April is Delta, which sells return tickets starting at $1,040. For both companies, these prices are starting, and the more popular the flight date, the higher the prices, sometimes more than $2,000 for a round-trip ticket in economy class. The reason is that there is still a shortage of 12 to 15 weekly flights to destinations in the United States, according to industry sources.

Trump’s security concerns are everything else

Several airlines that have officially announced their return to Israel in recent weeks have publicly requested an amendment to the Air Services Law, in order to resume operations, which would suspend some consumer rights of passengers in the event of flight cancellations, including financial compensation.

Over the past few months, the airlines have been working with the Knesset Economics Committee, and have successfully reached agreement on an amendment that will reduce their exposure to flight cancellation expenses, especially during times of emergency such as war or other security incidents. The amendment was finally passed by Knesset, but that did not prevent foreign companies that supported the amendment from resuming operations in Israel.

Despite the airlines’ efforts to obtain improved conditions from the state, the factor that ultimately triggers the measure appears to be significant progress toward a ceasefire, which allows air crews to feel safe and marks the end of volatile developments that are so sensitive.

It now appears that the amendment is closer than ever to enactment. On Sunday, the Cabinet approved what the Chairman of the Economics Committee MK David Bitan, defined as a condition for the amendment to pass into law – the country will share some of the costs of flights flying to North America, in the event that the operating model is expected to be not Unprofitable, among other things due to operational restrictions that will lead to the cancellation of flights.

According to the amendment, the state will compensate Israeli airlines that operate at least two additional weekly flights to the United States and Canada. The government will allocate up to 15 million NIS from the state budget to support airlines that participate in this initiative, to enhance competition against US airlines. But given Delta’s official return in April and the possibility of United Airlines returning as early as February, questions arise about the viability of the Israeli airline. In addition to compensating Israeli airlines that will operate charter flights to the United States, such as the one Arkia will soon operate and will be eligible for government aid, the Finance Ministry also worked to reopen Terminal 1 from April 1 to satisfy low-cost airlines led by Ryanair.

Wizz Air was back even earlier, shortly after the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah came into being, long before Terminal 1 reopened. With significant progress on the Gaza ceasefire and a cessation in rocket launches by Houthi rebels towards Israel, it announced Low-cost carriers Ryanair and Eashjet said they would return after reopening the terminal in April and June respectively.

The crisis is far from over, especially on American roads There are still airlines that have not yet announced their return to Israel. For example, United Airlines, which according to industry estimates is expected to return earlier than expected, although there is no change because it announced that it will not fly to Israel until further notice.

Air Canada and American Airlines, like United, have not stated any date on which they will resume flights to Israel. These are large companies that operate long-haul flights, which makes it difficult for them to have operational flexibility, compared to European airlines. Airlines including KLM and Iberia are scheduled to return to Israel within the next two months, but they have not officially announced a date.

Turkish Airlines and the Turkish carrier Pegasus, which had operated in Israel on a major scale before the war, were also not reinstated, and are now considering their next move, under the threat that the slots allocated to them at Ben Gurion Airport will be given to other airlines. However, these airlines are subject to the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey since the outbreak of the war.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 27, 2025.

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