For the first time since the Houthi missile strike near Ben Gurion Airport and the wave of cancellations that followed, a foreign airline is breaking the aerial blockade on Israel: Air Europa announced that starting tomorrow (Monday), it will resume its regular flights to Tel Aviv. This makes it the first European airline to restore regular service since the recent security escalation.
Air Europa and Air France Resume Service
In its announcement, Air Europa stated its intention to return to a full flight schedule to Ben Gurion, while clarifying that the plan remains subject to security developments. The Spanish airline’s return is expected to break the standstill that has dominated the skies in recent weeks following the ballistic missile strike near the terminal—an incident considered exceptional even by the standards of past conflicts. The strike triggered a series of cancellations by foreign airlines.
Air France has announced it will resume flights only after May 13. Transavia, part of the Air France–KLM Group, set the same date. Air India said it won’t resume service before May 25. easyJet, which had planned to restart flights in June, is now expected to delay its return.
Who’s Not Coming Back Yet?
Despite Air Europa’s expected return, many international airlines are still opting to wait. The Lufthansa Group announced that all five of its subsidiaries—Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings—will delay their return until May 18. Hungarian carrier Wizz Air is not expected to resume flights to Israel before May 14, and Poland’s LOT has postponed its return to the same date.
Greece’s Aegean Airlines, which had been expected to return earlier, extended its suspension through May 16. Ryanair, which initially planned to resume service this week, now says it won’t restart flights until at least May 21. Some carriers have set much later return dates: Iberia Express has pushed its Tel Aviv service back to early June, and British Airways has postponed its return until June 16. U.S. airlines United and Delta have canceled all flights to Israel through May 19, leaving El Al as the only carrier currently offering direct flights between Israel and the United States.
Israeli Airlines Step In
The absence of foreign carriers has created an aviation gap that Israeli airlines have been quick to fill. El Al, Israir, and Arkia all announced expanded flight schedules. Israir, for example, has added flights from nearby hubs such as Larnaca, Budapest, and Athens. Arkia has suspended its direct flights to New York until May 14 but is operating connecting flights through Athens.
Meanwhile, shares of Israeli airlines surged on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange—a direct result of the reduced availability of foreign-operated routes to Israel.
