In blow to Passover travel, Israir nixes regularly scheduled flights through March 31

Israeli carrier Israir cancels its regular scheduled flights planned through the end of March, citing wartime airspace restrictions and limited operations at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.

Due to the security situation and Home Front Command guidelines, scheduled flights planned to depart through March 31 are canceled, the airline says.

The announcement is a blow to travelers ahead of the Passover holiday.

Israir notes that cancellations apply only to regularly scheduled flights and do not include repatriation flights that are currently continuing to operate to and from Ben Gurion Airport, according to the outline determined by the Transportation Ministry.

“In line with the Transportation Ministry’s outline which restricts the number of seats on each flight, Israir will do its best to accommodate some of the passengers whose flights were canceled on flights operating during the current period,” the airline says. “The supply of seats is significantly lower than the demand and number of planned flights before the start of the war, and it may not be possible to accommodate all requests.”

Customers whose flights were canceled will also be offered a full cash refund or a future credit voucher worth 130 percent of the cost of the original reservation made via the airline’s website or through the service center. Those who made their reservation through a travel agent are asked to contact the agent directly.

In addition, ticket sales for regular scheduled Israir flights are halted through April 30, unless the security situation changes. Once Israel’s airspace will be fully reopened and air operations will be expanded, Israir will be ready to reopen flight ticket sales, the airline says.

Israel’s airspace has been shut to most commercial traffic since February 28, when joint attacks with the US on the Iranian regime began.

Earlier this month, Ben Gurion Airport gradually reopened for limited inbound and outbound flights operated by Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa to repatriate Israelis stuck abroad and help travelers inside the country leave.