Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair may not return to Israel even after violence related to the Gaza war subsides, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said on Thursday, accusing Israeli authorities of obstructing the airline’s efforts at holding costs down.
“I think there is a real possibility that we won’t bother going back to Israel … when the current violence recedes,” O’Leary told journalists in Dublin. “Unless the Israelis kind of get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe.”
The dispute between Europe’s largest low-cost carrier and the Israel Airport Authority is over a commitment to the long-term use of Ben-Gurion International Airport’s newly reopened Terminal 1, which has lower fees and costs.
The airline previously said it would not return to Israel until Oct. 25 at the earliest.
The threat to not return comes amid Israeli negotiations with the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air to open a hub in Israel next year.
The third major European budget airline, Britain’s EasyJet, has suspended flights to Israel until next spring.
