Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air, which returned to Israel in December with flights only to Larnaca, Cyprus, relaunched additional Israel routes on Wednesday. The renewed flights ended months of a de facto halt to its Israel operations.
Most airlines canceled flights to the Jewish state in recent months due to ongoing tensions in the region.
Wizz Air said it will operate flights to various destinations, including Bucharest, Rome, Milan, Abu Dhabi, Sofia, Warsaw, London, Katowice, Athens, Larnaca, Budapest, Vienna and more. The company’s first flight today from Bucharest has already landed in Israel, and throughout Wednesday additional flights are expected to land from destinations such as Vilnius, Vienna, Budapest, London, Larnaca and more.
The return of the Hungarian budget carrier will expand flight options to and from Israel, which could affect ticket prices. Another budget carrier expected to join in the coming months, possibly even by the end of March according to ticket sales on their website, is Ryanair.
The airline plans to operate a full flight schedule to Israel this summer, when it expects travel to and from Tel Aviv to return to normal, a Ryanair executive announced on Sunday.
Last month, six airlines—Wizz Air, Biz Airlines, Air Europe, Lot, Air Baltic and Bulgaria Air—announced they would restore their Israel routes in the near future.
Several foreign airlines have resumed flights to Israel since the Nov. 27 ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with major European carriers, including Air France, British Airways and the Lufthansa group, expected to restart service next month.
The three major U.S. legacy carriers, however, are still not flying to and from Israel at this time. This makes El Al the sole airline operating direct flights between the United States and Israel.
