Airlines have either announced their intentions or begun flying to Israel and its main gateway, Tel Aviv, as Israel
and Hamas, the government of Gaza, have reached a ceasefire agreement that will become effective on January 19.
Wizz Air’s return to Israel
Wizz Air was one of the first major European airlines to return to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport
(TLV), Israel’s main gateway. The low-cost carrier resumed flights on several routes in the past few days while continuing to operate others for weeks.
On January 15, Wizz Air
, including its United Kingdom and Malta-based subsidiaries, resumed flights from Athens Airport (ATH), Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD), Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP), London Luton Airport
(LTN), Vienna Airport (VIE), and Vilnius Airport (VNO), on flights W47512, W62325, W43257, W95301, W42811, and W61965, respectively.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
On January 16, its purple-colored aircraft landed in Tel Aviv on flight W64427 from Sofia Airport (SOF), W46403 from Milan Malpensa Airport
(MXP), W62097 from Krakow John Paul II International Airport (KRK), W46043 from Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport
(FCO), and W61559 from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW).
Its Abu Dhabi-based airline subsidiary also operated flight 5W7085 from Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH) to Tel Aviv on January 16. In total, Wizz Air and its subsidiaries from all over Europe and the Middle East resumed flights to 12 destinations.
The low-cost carrier resumed regular services from Larnaka International Airport (LCA) to the Israeli city on December 20, Flightradar24 records showed. The map below depicts the 13 destinations that Wizz Air has served from Tel Aviv on January 15 and January 16.
Photo: Great Circle Map
At the same time, Wizz Air has previously expressed that it would resume flights to Israel in January in its half-year fiscal period financial results announcement. On November 7, 2024, József Váradi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Wizz Air, said that its operations in Tel Aviv had been suspended until mid-January.
The excess capacity had been reallocated across its network with a focus on route densification, and the airline continued monitoring the region’s security situation, Váradi added at the time.
Related
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The terminal will close to all international flights until March 2025.
Lufthansa’s planned return and Ryanair’s full summer schedule
On January 16, Lufthansa Group
issued a brief statement that said that the group had decided to resume flights to Tel Aviv. As a result, its passenger airlines will begin flying to Israel on February 1.
“The already decided suspension of Lufthansa Group flights to and from Tehran up to and including February 14 remains in place. Lufthansa Group Airlines will not fly to Beirut up to and including February 28.”
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed that in January, airlines, including domestic carriers like EL AL
, scheduled 758 weekly flights, offering 142,775 weekly seats to travelers flying from/to Tel Aviv.
Photo: Lufthansa Group
In February, weekly flights will increase to 854, or 12.7% month-on-month (MoM). This includes the planned resumption of operations by several airlines, which had zero flights in January: airBaltic
, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Iberia, ITA Airways, 
Lufthansa
, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS). Of the ten, six, including ITA Airways
, which is finalizing its merger with Lufthansa Group, are part of the Germany-based group.
Meanwhile, when approached by Simple Flying, a Ryanair
spokesperson referred to previous statements made by Eddie Wilson, the CEO of Ryanair (the airline). In an interview with Reuters, Wilson explained that while the airline relies on the guidance of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA
), Ryanair will returning to the country soon.
The CEO noted that the low-cost carrier group has a full summer schedule ready for flights to Tel Aviv, with the International Air Transport Association ( IATA
) summer season kicking off on March 30.
Photo: J-project | Shutterstock
Some airlines, including but not exclusive to Aegean Airlines or Air Europa
, have served Tel Aviv for several weeks, Flightradar24 flight records showed. The Greek carrier resumed services to Israel in December – with the exception of flight A3920, which resumed on January 16 – while Air Europa, with a brief pause between September 28, 2024, and October 21, 2024, has operated flights to Tel Aviv since February 2024.
Related
Delta Air Lines Suspends Flights From New York To Tel Aviv Through March Of Next Year
Delta Air Lines will continue monitoring the security situation in the region.
Active CZIB
However, EASA’s most recent conflict zone information bulletin (CZIB) for the airspace of Israel, issued on November 29, 2024, is still active until January 31. The bulletin, which is applicable to all operators, cautioned that while Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon, signed a ceasefire, “the overall situation in the Middle East region remains volatile and should be closely monitored by operators.”
“EASA recommends air operators to implement a stringent monitoring process and risk assessment for each flight when intending to operate within the airspace of Israel.”
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, on January 15, Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement, which includes swapping hostages and prisoners. The ceasefire will become effective on January 19.
Photo: ChameleonsEye | Shutterstock
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, when the latter’s militants launched an attack throughout the former, killing over 1,200 civilians, including foreign nationals, during the day’s attacks.
According to the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the subsequent military conflict in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 46,645 Palestinians as of January 14. The OCHA cited the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH) as its data source.
In response to the attacks and the subsequent war, airlines, including United States-based carriers like 
American Airlines
, 
Delta Air Lines
, and 
United Airlines
, axed all flights to Israel.
As a result, Ben Gurion International lost up to 64% of its weekly traffic in November 2023 compared to the same month a year prior.
Related
American Airlines Suspends Israel Flights Until April 2025
American Airlines’ suspension should be valid until March 29, 2025.
