Lufthansa group extends suspension of Israel flights through December 15
Move applies to SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings; Lufthansa flights to Tel Aviv from Germany suspended until end of 2024; Virgin Atlantic won’t resume fights before Oct. 2025
German airline group Lufthansa said on Monday it was extending the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv up to and including December 15, due to Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
The extension applied to all airlines within the group, which includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings.
In addition, flights to Tel Aviv from Frankfurt and Munich with flagship airline Lufthansa will also now be suspended to the end of the year, the group said.
Previously, all of the group’s flights had been suspended up to and including November 25.
The Lufthansa group has repeatedly modified its flight schedule in recent months due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, as have other carriers.
Its flights to the Iranian capital have also already been suspended until the end of January next year, while services to the Lebanese capital of Beirut have been suspended until the end of February.
On Sunday, Virgin Atlantic Airways said it has delayed the restart of its services to Israel due to hold-ups in the delivery of engines from Rolls-Royce, according to Bloomberg. Channel 12 reported the airline would not return to Israel before October 2025.
Last month, a group of 15 foreign carriers warned that they are likely to continue to suspend flights to Israel unless the current compensation regulation for canceled flights is amended and adapted to ease the costs and financial risk of disruptions and cancellations amid the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
In a joint request, the airlines are seeking to make temporary amendments to the 2012 Aviation Services Law in a position paper submitted to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee this week. The group is understood to include airlines such as British Airways and Delta Air Lines along with low-cost carriers Wizz Air and Easyjet.
Since war broke out with the Hamas terror group following the October 7 onslaught on southern Israeli communities, foreign airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flights to and from Israel due to the security situation. In recent months, US airlines completely stopped flying to Israel amid heightened fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and as tensions rise in the Middle East.
American Airlines extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv from March 2025 until September, while Delta Airlines and UK flag carrier British Airways canceled their routes to Israel until April next year joining an array of foreign airlines that have recently expanded their flight suspensions for longer periods.
With the supply of flights low and demand high, ticket prices have soared as travelers from Ben Gurion Airport are almost entirely dependent on Israeli carriers El Al Israel Airlines, Israir, and Arkia.
Under the current aviation law, foreign airlines in the event of a flight cancellation made less than 14 days before departure, are obliged to offer an alternative flight to the passenger. But in the current reality due to the scarce availability of flights and seats the provision of an alternative flight involves a much higher and unreasonable cost compared to the consideration paid to the airline for the flight ticket it sold to the same passenger, it is argued in the position paper.
