Few flights, high fares await Israeli travelers this summer

The situation will only ease once foreign airlines return. "Globes" has put together information that travelers may be seeking.

After two weeks of restrictions on air traffic because of Operation Rising Lion against Iran, Ben Gurion, Ramon and Haifa airports are returning to full activity. The Israel Airports Authority announced yesterday evening that the limitations on the number of flights, the number of passengers on each flight, and on the entry of people accompanying travelers to the airports, had been removed. The Israeli airlines have announced a significant increase in flights. "Globes" has put together the information that travelers may be seeking.

Can anyone leave and return to Israel whenever they want?

The directive that anyone leaving Israel could return only after thirty days has been canceled, and there are no restrictions on entering and leaving. The number of seats on airlines operating in Israel is, however, limited at present, and it will not be easy to buy tickets in the next few weeks. The airlines report overloading of their booking websites, but it is expected that with the lifting of restrictions at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, the foreign airlines will gradually return, expanding the supply.

Which airlines are operating in Israel at the moment?

At present, the Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, Arkia, and Air Haifa are the only airlines operating in Israel. The foreign airlines have yet to return to Ben Gurion Airport, but some have requested to do so, and once they receive approval some of them will return immediately. Among the airlines that have submitted requests to return are flyDubai, Ethiopian, Red Wing, Hainan, Bluebird, and TUS. They could receive approval at any moment.

When will it become possible to book tickets as usual?

Tickets can be booked for all the foreign airlines in accordance with the date that each has announced that it will resume operations. Some may do so earlier than announced, particularly those that have already submitted requests to return to Israel.

What about the Israeli airlines - can tickets be booked with them?

In the case of the Israeli airlines, which at this stage are still focusing on rescue flights, tickets for outbound flights can be booked freely, but, last time we looked, availability was still limited, and seats were only available on flights of Air Haifa.

El Al will continue its rescue flights from the eight places already announced - Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Paris, London, Bangkok, New York, and Los Angeles. In the next two days, the company will also operate flights from Budapest, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Prague, Madrid, Milan, Warsaw, and Sofia. Once all the airline’s stranded customers have been assigned flights, booking for incoming flights will be opened to the public at large.

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Israir is due to operate rescue flights in the coming days from Athens, Larnaca, Varna, Tbilisi, Rome, London, Budapest, and Batumi. The company has not yet announced a return to its full summer schedule.

Arkia has announced that, from July, it will renew the flight schedule it planned for the summer to all its destinations, which include Rhodes, Crete, Corfu, Athens, Paris, Milan, Geneva, Kalamata, Mykonos, Larnaca, Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York, and Tivat (Montenegro). For anyone who has booked the rescue flights, which will continue to operate until July, their tickets are still valid.

Air Haifa will continue rescue flights from Larnaca to Haifa. Seats on today’s outbound flights from Haifa are available for purchase on the company’s website. Flights from Thursday to Monday (June 26 to June 30) will be advertised tomorrow (Thursday), and tickets will be for sale in the course of the day. From July 1, the company is due to return to its regular schedule, which includes flights to Athens, but the route to Eilat’s Ramon Airport will be resumed at a later date.

What if I bought tickets for July or August?

If an airline cancels a flight, it has to notify the passenger and offer a refund, a voucher for future use, or an alternative flight. Passengers who have bought tickets for July or August and have not received notification of cancellation can assume at this stage that the flight will take place as normal, but this is subject to change in accordance with the decisions of the various airlines.

If the airline has not yet announced that it is resuming operations, should I initiate cancelation of the flight?

It is not recommended to cancel flights on your own initiative, as a customer who does so is not entitled to a full refund or an alternative flight. It is preferable to wait patiently for an official update from the airline. Meanwhile, it is worth booking accommodation that is cancellable without charge. If you have already booked accommodation and the booking cannot be cancelled, it is recommended that you should contact the hotel or apartment owner by email and find out whether there is any flexibility over arrival dates.

I wish to buy tickets for this summer. What is going to happen to prices?

According to Minister of Transport Miri Regev, most of the flights at Ben Gurion Airport this summer will be by the Israeli airlines. This is because some of the foreign airlines have already assigned their planes to other destinations, and so their return to Israel will be delayed. Although there are foreign airlines that will resume flights to Israel in the near future, the supply of seats will remain limited, precisely in the summer season when demand is at its highest.

When there is high demand and low supply, prices rise. That mechanism sometimes arouses public anger at the airlines operating in the market, but in fact it raises the chances of seats being available at the last minute, which is critical in cases of medical or humanitarian need. So prices will probably remain high both now and close to the flight date. Lower fares will be on the cards only when a significant number of foreign airlines starts flying to Israel again.

Estimated dates when airlines will resume Israel flights (those for which information is currently available):

By June 30: Lot, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, flyDubai.

By July 14: Air France.

By July 15: Etihad.

By July 31: Air India, Air Europa, Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, ITA Airways, United.

By August 31: Delta.

By September 7: Transavia France.

By September 8: Aegean, Air Canada.

By September 15: Wizz Air.

By September 30: Air Baltic.

By October 25: British Airways, EasyJet, Swiss, Iberia Express, Ryanair.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 25, 2025.

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