Resumption of partial flight services to Israel expected despite security concerns

Eight foreign airlines are set to partially resume services to Israel in the coming month, according to the Israel Airports Authority. Three airlines plan to restart specific routes in January (Air France, Bluebird Airways and Bulgaria Air), while four others (TUS, Transavia, LOT and Vueling) aim to resume partial service during the same period. Additionally, Air Europa intends to resume flights to Madrid at the start of February.

While these airlines have informed the Airports Authority of their intentions, their decisions remain contingent upon security developments. In the event of a worsening security situation, these airlines may reconsider and suspend their flights to Israel once again.

The Lufthansa Group, including SWISS and Austrian Airlines, resumed flights at the beginning of this week. This is also the case for Tarom from Romania and Aegean Airlines from Greece.

Most foreign airlines had ceased operations to and from Israel during the conflict with Hamas in October, causing a significant reduction in flights through Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion Airport. During this period, Israeli airlines (El Al, Israir, and Arkia) handled the majority of the limited flights.

Despite widespread cancellations, a few foreign airlines, including Flydubai, Ethiopian Airlines, and Etihad Airways, continued operating flights to Israel during the conflict.

Amidst ongoing challenges, Tel Aviv Airport has remained operational, and recent weeks have seen a slight increase in daily passenger traffic.