Foreign airlines extend suspension of Israel flights over Houthi missile attack

A number of foreign airlines extended their cancellations of flights to Tel Aviv on Monday, a day after a Houthi missile struck near Ben Gurion Airport, and as the Yemen-based terror group threatened to “blockade” Israel’s main transit hub.

Due to the flight cancellations, Israeli carriers started to add some flights and cap one-way fares to help Israelis stranded overseas to travel back home. However, the shortage of available seats was turning the efforts by flagship carrier El Al Israel Airlines and smaller local carriers into no more than a gesture.

United Airlines extended its cancellation of flights to and from Newark Airport through May 11, beyond its original cancellation through May 8.

The Lufthansa group of carriers — which also includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — said Monday that it was extending its suspension of all flights to Israel through May 11, after previously canceling them through May 6.

Air France extended its cancellations through May 13, while Hungarian low-cost giant Wizz Air said that it was extending its cancellations through May 8.

Most foreign carriers canceled their Tel Aviv flights after a ballistic missile from Yemen impacted outside Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, wounding several people and causing chaos at the airport. Iberia, LOT, Air Europa, British Airways, ITA, Ryanair, and Delta all halted their flights to Israel for at least several days, as did a number of other smaller airlines.

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

Only a few foreign airlines continued flying on Sunday, including Ethiopian Airlines, flydubai, and Blue Bird Airways.

With many Israeli travelers stranded abroad, El Al announced on Monday that it was capping the prices of one-way tickets to help them get back to Israel from a number of key hubs.

Israel’s flagship carrier introduced a maximum price policy for one-way tickets from several destinations to Tel Aviv. One-way tickets from Rome will be sold for a maximum of $333, from Barcelona for up to $349, from Paris for up to $392, from London Luton airport for up to $424, from Thessaloniki for up to $289, and from New York for up to $799.

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.

“Israeli aviation has a national responsibility to continue connecting Israel to the world in this period, while providing solutions to Israelis seeking to return home,” said Shlomi Zafrany, the VP of commercial and industrial affairs at El Al.

Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours Jerusalem, told The Times of Israel that it is a “limited gesture” by El Al.

“They are not lowering fares but are offering more reasonable prices and are not price gouging,” he said. “However, not a lot of people will be able to take advantage, as the problem is not so much the price but the availability of seats.”

“If El Al said there are thousands of seats on these planes, I would be more impressed,” he added.

Meanwhile, smaller Israeli carrier Israir on Sunday and Monday added a flight each from Larnaca, Athens, and Budapest to Tel Aviv, to try and help provide solutions for Israelis stranded overseas. Local rival Arkia said it will be operating additional flights from Rome and Vienna over the weekend with fares starting at $299 for one-way tickets.

The hiatus of foreign airlines has again left El Al alongside smaller local carriers Arkia and Israir with a near-monopoly. On Sunday, El Al shares jumped almost seven percent and are up 49% so far this year, while Israir’s stock rose 4.1%, according to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange data.

After the rocket impact near the airport — which followed failed Israeli attempts to shoot it down — the Houthis boasted of their success and claimed that Ben Gurion Airport was “no longer safe for air travel.”

The Iran-backed terror group vowed to impose a complete “aerial blockade” on Israel by continuing to launch rockets at the airport.

Houthi forces called “upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration… and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers.”

The success of such a blockade is highly unlikely, with Israel’s defensive systems expected to be able to tackle most incoming missiles.

On Monday evening, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes in the Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah in Yemen in response to the Iran-backed terror group’s ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport.

Times of Israel staff and Reuters contributed to this report.