Virgin Atlantic will not resume service to Israel, the British airline announced on Monday.
The surprise decision comes at a time when an increasing number of foreign airlines have resumed service to Israel, including Virgin’s chief rival, British Airways, which was halted during the war.
“After careful consideration, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our services between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said in a statement.
Virgin was due to resume flights to Ben-Gurion International Airport this fall after repeatedly suspending service on the route last year due to regional tensions.
The airline, which has a codeshare agreement with El Al, is owned by the billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson. It first launched flights to Israel in 2019 to much fanfare shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Why BA has found a way to successfully return to Israel while Virgin is no longer interested in the market is a question their London-based management has failed to answer,” Mark Feldman, Jerusalem director of Diesenhaus Tours, told JNS. “Shai Weiss, the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, is an Israeli, and his decision to cut flights to Israel raises a multitude of questions.”
In addition to El Al and British Airways, Israir and the budget carrier Wizz Air also fly between Tel Aviv and the United Kingdom.
