European Airlines Resume and Expand Flights to Israel as Ben Gurion Airport Recovers

Ben Gurion Airport in Israel is gradually returning to its pre-pandemic capacity following severe disruptions caused by recent conflicts. On Wednesday, a significant recovery milestone was reached as several major European airlines resumed and expanded their operations to and from Israel, signaling renewed confidence in the Israeli aviation market.

Lufthansa restarted flights today, operating 14 weekly flights on the Frankfurt-Tel Aviv route and planning to resume Munich-Tel Aviv flights with two daily flights starting August 1. ITA Airways also resumed its Rome-Tel Aviv service with two daily flights departing at 05:15 and 14:30. Latvian carrier AirBaltic resumed flights this morning with three weekly flights between Riga and Tel Aviv.

In July, Lufthansa’s subsidiary Eurowings will rejoin with four weekly flights to Hamburg starting July 10 and Düsseldorf from July 18. Austrian Airlines, which resumed operations in early June, plans to increase its Vienna-Tel Aviv flights to 11 weekly flights in July, with further expansion expected in August. SWISS will restart daily Zurich-Tel Aviv flights from August 1, and Brussels Airlines is set to operate one weekly flight between Brussels and Tel Aviv in August.

This resurgence of European carriers highlights growing trust in the Israeli market and significantly increases flight options to key European destinations during the peak summer travel season, likely impacting airfare prices positively.