Quick Links What a difference a year makes A growth opportunity for some airlines The complete list of suspensions The past year has been full of turmoil for civil aviation in Israel . The October 7 attacks and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza led many airlines to suspend flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) last year, fearing an escalation of the conflict and attacks on the airport itself. By the end of the month, just seven airlines were flying into TLV, but that had picked by up to 45 airlines by February of this year.
However, the escalating Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in recent weeks has led to the European Union issuing an official recommendation against flying in Israeli and Lebanese airspace until October 31, which will have a substantial impact on air traffic in the region. Even as these words are being written, hundreds of ballistic missiles are en route from Iran to Israel, which will undoubtedly cause airlines to avoid Israeli airspace for even longer. So let's take stock of the current situation, examining which airlines have suspended flights to Israel and when they will return.
What a difference a year makes TLV has historically been one of the top ten busiest airports in the Middle East, handling approximately 22 million passengers a year, which puts it on par with the level of flight traffic you would find at Abu Dhabi (AUH), Athens (ATH), or Austin (AUS). But looking at data from Cirium , an aviation analytics company, comparing September 2023 (befo.