The war in Gaza has drastically shifted Israel's aviation and tourism sector. That said, over the past few weeks, multiple major airlines have resumed flights to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) and more will do so in the coming days. These airlines suspended flights to Israel in October 2023, following the atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas in Israel, leading to a conflict between the terrorist group and Israel in the Gaza Strip. Let's take a look at which airlines are flying to Israel now.

Return to Israel

Following Hamas' brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, almost all foreign airlines halted service to the country. This left a monopoly on most routes for Israeli flag carrier El Al and fellow Israeli carriers Arkia and Israir, which continued to operate flights and serve as a necessary air bridge connecting Israel to Asia, Europe, and North America. The Israeli government has also backed insurance for the country's carriers to ensure they can continue flying.

Until late November, the Israeli carriers were the only airlines operating in Israel. But then the first batch of airlines resumed service to Tel Aviv. This included flyDubai, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Red Wings, Azimuth Airlines, and Uzbekistan Airways. By mid-December, there were a mere 498 weekly departures from Ben Gurion Airport, representing a 66.4% drop from levels in September.

However, the situation has changed quite a bit now. On January 9, the Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, and Austrian Airlines, all resumed flights to Tel Aviv. Last week also marked the return of Athens-based Aegean Airlines and Bucharest-based Tarom. According to the Israel Airports Authority, nine international airlines have plans to restart or have already restarted service to Israel, including Air France, Air Europa, Vueling, Transavia, Bulgaria Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Blue Bird, Azerbaijan Airlines, and TUS Airways.

Although these airlines have announced their flight resumption plans, they have noted that their decisions may be altered depending on the security situation. As such, if the conditions worsen, airlines may postpone their return to Israel. This means that although things look positive, these flights could still be canceled, and those making bookings should be aware of the risk.

Who's flying now?

As previously mentioned, over the past few months, El Al, Arkia, and Israir have served as the only bridge between Israel and abroad. In addition to the Israeli airlines, eleven international airlines have resumed flights, with more to come. The airlines operating flights from Tel Aviv in January are detailed in the following table.

Other carriers such as Finnair, KLM, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines, and Pegasus have all scheduled flights to and from Israel in February. While these current schedule filings indicate a nearing resumption of operations to Israel, none of these airlines have confirmed their return to Israel, and all maintain that their service to Tel Aviv remains suspended.

Despite the return of many legacy airlines, with more scheduled to return in the coming weeks, US carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have not announced restarting flights to Israel. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have also made no such announcements.