Foreign airlines, led by the Emirati carrier Flydubai, resumed flying to Israel late Wednesday, one day after the ceasefire with Iran began.
The speedy renewal of service to Tel Aviv came less than 24 hours after Israel’s main international airport resumed full operations after 12 days during which Israeli airspace had been entirely or mostly closed to civilian traffic.
The Emirati government-run Flydubai, which was among a handful of international airlines to have flown to Israel almost without pause throughout the 20-month war against Hamas in Gaza, became the first foreign carrier to land in Israel late Wednesday night.
“This shows you how smart of an airline they are,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours, told JNS on Thursday. “Clients love flying to Dubai and connecting to Emirates.”
The Israeli-owned Cypriot carrier TUS Airways and the Greek airline Blue Bird Airways were flying to Israel on Thursday, as was an additional Emirati carrier, the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad.
China’s Hainan Airlines is expected to resume direct flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing on Sunday. Russia’s Red Wings and Ethiopian Airlines are also set to renew service imminently.
Meanwhile, among the popular European carriers, Air France announced that it will resume service to Tel Aviv on July 7, while Madrid-based Air Europa said it would renew flights to Israel on July 14.
Although Israel has been a profitable market for foreign airlines and demand is expected to be high, most foreign carriers have canceled flights to Israel through mid- to late summer, as they have already rerouted planes to other destinations.
United Airlines has canceled flights to Israel until August, while Delta Air Lines has suspended service to Tel Aviv until September.
The four Israeli carriers, led by El Al, which operated repatriation flights over the last week for the tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad during the war, plan to return to normal schedules on Sunday.
Israel’s flag carrier offered special one-way capped fares in basic economy for non-ticketed passengers returning to Tel Aviv from a variety of destinations for flights starting on June 29. With demand high and limited availability on other carriers, the low fares were quickly booked within hours.