The Lufthansa Group of airlines has announced it would resume services to Israel next month. This decision comes as the global aviation group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, and Eurowings, responds to a growing trend of foreign airlines renewing flights to Ben-Gurion International Airport due to de-escalating regional tensions. British Airways and Air France are expected to follow suit soon.
The three major U.S. legacy carriers have not resumed flights to Israel. United Airlines and American Airlines have suspended their flights indefinitely, while Delta Airlines plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv in April. United and Delta attempted to restart flights to Israel periodically over the past year, but each time, they had to extend their service suspensions due to escalations in the conflict. Meanwhile, American Airlines has not operated flights to Israel at all. A spokesperson for United Airlines informed that the company currently has no updates regarding the resumption of its flights.
Lufthansa will begin operating daily flights between Frankfurt and Munich and to Israel on February 1. Swiss International Air Lines will also offer daily flights to Zurich, while Austrian Airlines will provide daily service to Vienna. Brussels Airlines plans to operate three weekly flights, and Eurowings will fly twice weekly to Düsseldorf. The gradual resumption of flights is expected to accelerate in the spring.
Major European airlines are reinstating services following the revival of operations by popular low-cost carriers. Hungary-based Wizz Air has already resumed its flights, and Ireland’s Ryanair is set to renew service this spring, with plans to return to a full schedule in the summer.
January and February are usually the weakest months for travel to Israel. According to the Israel Airports Authority, around 50,000 passengers pass through Ben-Gurion International Airport daily on over 300 international flights.