Blow to travelers, low-cost airline will not return to Israel until the fall

Photo: Yossi Aloni/Flash90

Blow to travelers, low-cost airline will not return to Israel until the fall Anet Siman Tov 16:21 6 9 2 While foreign airlines continue to consider resuming service to Israel, two more carriers have announced extensions of their suspension of operations at Ben Gurion Airport. One of them has already canceled all of its flights for the upcoming summer season. The move is expected to further reduce the supply of flights and make it harder for travelers planning vacations in the coming months.

Bad news for Israeli travelers: Transavia, the major low-cost airline from the Air France-KLM group, announced today, Wednesday, that it is canceling all of its flights to Israel and is abandoning operations at Ben Gurion Airport throughout the entire summer season. At the same time, Georgian Airways is once again postponing its return to Israel and extending its flight suspension.

Transavia, credit: Shutterstock

Another blow to Israeli travelers comes from France. The low-cost airline Transavia, part of the Air France-KLM group, said it is significantly extending the suspension of flights to Israel and canceling all of its operations on routes to Ben Gurion Airport until September 6, 2026, inclusive. In practice, the company’s decision means canceling operations for the entire summer period, a season considered one of the busiest in terms of passenger traffic. In addition, according to the update published by Georgian Airways, the company is extending the suspension of flights to and from Israel by another month. This means that all of the company’s flights on the Tel Aviv route are canceled at least until July 31, inclusive. This is another extension after several previous postponements by the company in recent months, against the backdrop of security assessments and ongoing uncertainty in the region.

Flights, credit: Shutterstock

The extension of the suspension by the two companies joins a string of international airlines that have already announced in recent weeks that they are delaying their return to Israel or significantly reducing operations, due to developments in the security situation in the region and fears of further escalation. In light of the latest announcements, the number of foreign airlines operating at Ben Gurion Airport remains relatively limited, with many passengers forced to rely on Israeli carriers or on a small number of foreign airlines that continued operating flights to Israel even during the recent period.

Flight cancellations, photo: Shutterstock

Passengers holding tickets for Georgian Airways or Transavia flights during the cancellation period are asked to check with the airlines, travel agents, or booking websites through which the purchase was made, in order to receive a refund, credit, or alternative booking according to the company’s policy. Cancellation flight cancellations airlines flights Ben Gurion Airport 6 write a response