Airlines further extend pauses on Israel flights, in sign they may stay away longer

Almost all foreign airlines have further extended their suspension of flight services to Tel Aviv, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded overseas and many scrambling to find new flights abroad.

Most foreign airlines servicing Israel canceled their flights to Israel shortly after a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis struck inside the grounds of Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday. The attack prompted sweeping Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeida port, the airport in the capital, Sanaa, and other Houthi infrastructure targets. Amid the instability, the majority of airlines are pushing off their return to Israel, in a worrying sign that foreign carriers are yet again likely to stay away for longer stretches.

British Airways was the latest carrier extending the suspension of its flights from London through June 14. Wizz Air said it was extending the suspension through May 11 at least. The Lufthansa group of carriers — which also includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — extended its suspension of all flights to Israel through May 11 as well, as did Air Baltic, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, and LOT Polish Airlines.

Air France cancelled flight services through May 13. Spanish low-cost carrier Air Europa has halted flights to Israel through May 7. Air India and Iberia paused their Israel services through May 8.

US airline Delta extended the stoppage of its daily nonstop service to Tel Aviv from New York’s JFK airport through May 19. United Airlines said it was halting flight services to and from the country through May 18.

“The outlook for inbound and outbound passenger traffic to and from Israel is facing significant challenges,” Yoni Waxman, deputy chairman of Ophir Tours, told The Times of Israel. “For Israeli travelers, this means longer layovers, higher prices, and fewer direct connections in the short term.”

“Inbound passenger traffic is also expected to decline temporarily, as global tour operators and individual travelers weigh safety concerns,” said Waxman.

Smoke in the area of Ben Gurion Airport after a ballistic missile was fired at Israel from Yemen on May 4, 2025 (Screen grab from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Only a very few foreign airlines continued to fly in and out of Ben Gurion Airport this week, including flydubai, Emirates, and Jetblue Airways. Ethiopian Airlines canceled some of its flights to Israel, but was expected to resume services to Tel Aviv on Thursday morning.

“Major international airlines are reassessing their operations, with some reducing frequencies or temporarily suspending flights,” said Waxman. “Others, like Air Seychelles, are rerouting via nearby hubs such as Larnaca, Cyprus, to keep routes viable.”

Many of the airlines had only recently resumed service to Israel, after flights were canceled for much of the time since Hamas’s onslaught on southern communities on October 7, 2023, started the war in Gaza. United resumed flights from New York in March, while Delta returned on April 1 and British Airways restarted its Israel flights on April 5.

Daily passenger traffic in and out of Ben Gurion Airport has dropped to an average of around 40,000 people a day in recent days, from around 70,000 at the end of April.

In response to the cancellations, Israeli airlines, including smaller carriers Arkia and Israir, have added flights from nearby destinations such as Athens and Larnaca, and capped one-way fares to a few destinations to help bring home Israelis stuck abroad. However, tickets have been selling out fast.

On Sunday, El Al started to sell one-way flight tickets from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Tel Aviv for $99 and from Athens to Tel Aviv for $149.

Israel’s flagship carrier also introduced a maximum price policy for one-way tickets from several destinations, including Rome, Barcelona, Paris, London Luton, and New York, to Tel Aviv. El Al said it has sold 13,000 one-way tickets at the capped prices in recent days.