Shares in Israeli airlines soar amid cancellations by foreign carriers after Houthi attack

Shares of El Al and local low-cost carrier Israir soar as a raft of foreign airlines pause their flight services to Tel Aviv following a ballistic missile attack from Yemen that struck an area at the country’s international Ben Gurion Airport.

El Al shares jump 6.9 percent and are up almost 40% this year, as the flagship carrier has been generating record-high profits, benefiting from uninterrupted flight services during the war period. Israir’s stock rises 3.8%.

Major foreign airlines, including German carrier Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Hungarian low-carrier Wizz Air suspended their flights to Tel Aviv until at least Tuesday. Spanish airline Air Europa halted its scheduled flight departing today from Madrid to Tel Aviv, citing “security reasons, joining Air France and other foreign carriers.

The hiatus by foreign airlines cedes the market to El Al, some smaller Israeli carriers, and a handful of other airlines that have not interrupted their flight services.