Ryanair to resume Israel flights if Terminal 1 reopens

Eddie Wilson, Ryanair’s chief executive, has announced that the Irish low-cost airline plans to return to full operations in Israel in the summer and that the summer schedule has already been set. Ryanair has not operated flights to Israel since last August, when flights were suspended due to the security situation.

Ryanair’s plans to operate a full flight schedule are significant, given that most airlines returning to Israel have opted for a slow and gradual resumption. The full return of Ryanair will help increase competition significantly. However, Wilson expressed hope that Terminal 1 would be reopened, noting that this is an important condition for the profitability of operations in Israel.

The Israel Airports Authority announced last October that Terminal 1 would reopen on April 1, and said it was ready to resume operations in the terminal if there was a significant return of low-cost airlines with a long-term commitment. As of today, the terminal is undergoing upgrade works, so Ryanair’s return before the planned opening in April is unrealistic.

“We are relying on the guidance of the European Aviation Safety Agency (European aviation regulator) … but our view is that we will come back,” Wilson told Reuters.

Ryanair also suspended its flights to Jordan during last year’s tensions, but resumed operations to the Hashemite Kingdom in December. The airline has the largest aircraft fleet in Europe.

After resuming its operations in Israel last June and before suspending flights in August, Ryanair operated flights from Tel Aviv to: Paphos, Athens, Malta, Bucharest, Budapest, Milan, Bari and Berlin, and as of the end of October it was planning to operate flights. To Bologna, Rome, Naples, Turin, Venice, Meiningen, Baden-Baden, Brussels, Krakow, Poznań, Warsaw, Marseille, Vienna, Sofia, Vilnius and Thessaloniki.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 12, 2025.

© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.