Foreign Airlines Gradually Resume Flights to Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

After a prolonged period of significantly reduced flight options to and from Israel, foreign airlines have been steadily returning to operate at Ben Gurion Airport in recent months. Some resumed flights shortly after the start of Operation "Roaring Lion," while others restarted during the summer, with additional airlines scheduling returns in the near future. Currently, dozens of foreign carriers operate at Ben Gurion, either independently or in partnership with Israeli airlines.

Early returnees include HiFly, which continued long-haul flights for Arkia throughout Operation "Roaring Lion." In April, Bulgarian Electra Airways and Romanian FlyLili began operating flights for Arkia to Vienna. Other April resumptions included ALK Airlines for Blue Bird to Athens, Tus Airways to Larnaca, Rome, Paphos, and Prague, Uzbekistan Airways, Etihad, Ethiopian Airlines, and Red Wings to Moscow. Greek airlines Sky Express and Aegean also resumed flights to Athens, Rhodes, Larnaca, and Heraklion, alongside FlyOne, Belavia, Cyprus Airways, and Azimuth.

May saw further returns with Romanian TAROM, Azerbaijan Airlines, Centrum Air, and Smartwings resuming flights, while Trade Air, Hello Jets, and European Air Charter began operating for Israeli carriers. Wizz Air notably restarted flights to Israel on May 28, followed by LOT in early June, with Austrian Airlines and Bulgaria Air joining soon after. The summer months continued this trend, with Italian Neos resuming in June and operating New York flights for Arkia, Qanot Sharq from Uzbekistan, Air Europa, and Valletta Airlines also returning.

July marked another recovery phase as AirBaltic, Lufthansa, ITA Airways, and Air France resumed flights in early July. Eurowings restarted routes to Hamburg and Dusseldorf, Swiss resumed on August 1, Condor returned after decades on August 2, and Brussels Airlines resumed on August 5. The list of returning airlines continues to grow, with Animawings planning thrice-weekly flights to Bucharest and American carriers Delta and United Airlines expected to restart New York routes in September. This resurgence is particularly significant for Israeli travelers facing a recent shortage of direct flights to New York.