JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Irish-based low-cost air carrier Ryanair has suspended all its flights to Israel again, just a month after resuming operations after it has stopped flights due to the war with Hamas.
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The current halt in flights to Israel is due to a dispute with Ben Gurion airport over the use of terminals. Ryanair says that it was “forced by Ben Gurion International Airport to operate at the more expensive Terminal 3, which resulted in significantly higher costs and would have resulted in much higher airfares for Ryanair passengers traveling to and from Tel Aviv.”
The Israel Airports Authority closed Terminal 1, mainly used by charter and budget airlines, after the war broke out in the aftermath of the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught. As a result, inbound and outbound flight traffic from Ben Gurion International Airport has been limited to the more modern and expensive Terminal 3, which charges higher fees.
Major international airlines, including Ryanair, canceled all routes to Israel in the first week of the current war. Ryanair resumed flights to and from Israel on February 1 with a reduced operating schedule, as other European carriers including Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian, restarted their operations to the country.
“We call again on Ben Gurion International Airport to confirm a date when the lower cost Terminal 1 facility will be reopened, which will allow Ryanair to resume selling low-fare flights to and from Tel Aviv which have done so much to grow air travel and tourism for Israel,” says Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson.