The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) is preparing for the return of international airlines to Israel following the ceasefire in the north. The authority, following the directive of Transport Minister Miri Regev, has established a “day after” team to conduct talks with the airlines’ management to arrange their return.
The first to announce its return was Azerbaijan Airlines, which resumed its flights last week after two months of absence from Israel.
This was followed by the Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier giant Wizz Air, which announced it would resume its flights in a reduced format starting December 20 – initially with four weekly flights to Larnaca, Cyprus, and later with additional routes beginning January 15. Wizz Air normally operates flights to more than 10 destinations in Europe, so running only four flights is an especially cautious move.
The Greek airline Aegean also announced that it would resume operating routes – to Larnaca and Athens only. Air Seychelles announced it would return in early January, and Air Europa and Bulgaria Air announced their return in mid-and late December.
As part of the preparations, the IAA is upgrading the baggage sorting system in Terminal 1 and establishing a new assisted living complex in Terminal 3 that will centralize all assisted living services under one roof – from security screening to baggage handling.
The IAA also announced that it would consider reopening Terminal 1 if the low-cost airlines commit to continuous activity on a significant scale. At the same time, the IAA has launched a recruitment campaign for security workers in various positions, with attractive salary conditions and opportunities for promotion.
The Spanish airline Air Europa has also announced its return to Israel. The airline’s representative confirmed that starting December 18, the company would resume operating four flights a week on the Madrid-Tel Aviv route, and on the second week of its return to Israel, it would increase to six flights a week on the route.
Meanwhile, two very significant airlines have announced that they will not return to Israel in the near future. Air India has canceled all its flights to Israel until the end of February next year, and the Spanish airline Iberia is not expected to return to Israel until the end of March next year.
El Al no longer operates direct flights to India since the ban on flying over Oman, Jordan, and Arkia has also stopped flying to India so currently, there are no direct flights between the two countries.
