Flight Prices for Jewish High Holidays Drop but Rise Near Peak Dates and Popular Destinations

Flight ticket prices for the summer remain high compared to pre-Operation Iron Swords levels but are similar to prices since the war began. Periodic airspace closures, security uncertainties, and reduced foreign airline operations have kept prices elevated. However, the recent drop in the US dollar exchange rate has helped moderate these increases. Additionally, more Israelis are avoiding early bookings and prefer to purchase flights closer to departure dates.

As a result, tickets for the Jewish High Holidays (Tishrei) are still offered at relatively low prices, with some destinations showing price drops of up to 58% compared to last year’s Rosh Hashanah. According to lastminute.co.il data, Larnaca saw the largest price drop of 58%, followed by Rome (57%), Budapest and Prague (46%), Rhodes (42%), and Athens (38%).

Closer to the holidays, especially Sukkot, prices begin to rise for popular destinations like Berlin and Tbilisi. On Yom Kippur, significant price decreases were noted for Rome (about 50%), Thessaloniki (38%), Budapest (35%), and Montenegro (25%), while Rhodes saw a slight increase of 4%. For Sukkot, Larnaca still leads with a 33% price drop, but Tbilisi increased by 38%, Berlin by 18%, and London by 4%.

Asaf Greenberg, Marketing VP at lastminute.co.il, explained that there is a limited booking window for holiday travel, concentrating demand on few departure and return days. Prices tend to rise as the holidays approach and flight options narrow. The strengthening Israeli shekel against the dollar, which is about 9% lower than last July, further benefits consumers by translating price drops into greater savings in shekel terms.