Credit: Davidi Vardi via Wikimedia Commons.
Ryanair, the largest low-cost carrier in Europe based out of Ireland, on Wednesday announced it was extending its suspension of flights to Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv until June 4.
Ryanair “has regrettably been forced to cancel flights to/from Tel Aviv,” the airline stated in a travel update posted to its website. “Affected passengers will be notified of their options by Email and SMS.”
“Ryanair apologises for these cancellations, which are beyond our control, and passengers are advised to download the Ryanair app to check for the latest flight updates,” according to Wednesday’s notice.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, Ryanair’s decision affects tens of thousands of Israelis and foreigners who had already purchased tickets.
Ryanair suspended flights to the Jewish state’s main travel hub after the May 4 Houthi ballistic missile assault from Yemen that hit Ben-Gurion Airport. Six civilians were lightly to moderately wounded in the strike.
The Houthi aerial assault marked the latest escalation by the terrorist group, which has launched a series of long-range ballistic missiles and drones at the Jewish state in recent months, targeting ports, military installations, and now the country’s main international airport.
In the wake of the Houthi strike, the airport halted takeoffs and landings for around 30 minutes, forcing at least three inbound aircraft to remain airborne. In addition, international airlines moved to cancel flights.
United Airlines announced on Monday that it would be extending flight cancellations to Israel through June 12, after it had previously said it would resume service to the Jewish state next week.
The Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is scheduled to renew flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport later this month.
Meanwhile, Greece’s national airline, Aegean Airlines, has announced it will resume full operations to Israel as early as Monday, Channel 12 said.
Lufthansa Group has also announced it will resume flights to Tel Aviv on May 19. The German aviation group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines and SWISS, is planning to operate a limited schedule without overnight flights throughout early June. All operations will be adjusted based on the volatile security situation.
Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air is also returning to the Jewish state. The budget airline announced it will resume flights as early as Thursday.
Spanish carrier Air Europa already resumed flights to Tel Aviv this week. However, the airline has warned that its plans remain subject to change depending on developments in Israel’s ongoing seven-front conflict.
Source: JNS
