Israel's aviation sector continues to rebound from the fallout of the October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack, as the Israel Airports Authority announced Wednesday that Ben Gurion Airport's Terminal 1, the low-cost terminal at the country’s main gateway, will reopen after being closed since early November for upgrades and maintenance.
Domestic flights will return in the last week of March, with international flights resuming by the end of the month.
More than 1,377 flights are expected to depart from Terminal 1 in April, carrying about a quarter of all passengers departing from Ben Gurion Airport.
Initially, the terminal will serve both Israeli and international airlines, including El Al (80+ weekly flights), Arkia (about 40 weekly flights), Israir (30+ weekly flights), Wizz Air (110 weekly flights to 19 destinations), Ryanair (86 weekly flights to 22 destinations) and EasyJet, which plans to resume flights to Israel in June.
"The return of airlines to Terminal 1 will provide passengers with direct access to popular destinations, including Sofia, Budapest, Bucharest, Berlin, Rome, Athens, Rhodes, Warsaw and Vienna," the Israel Airports Authority said in a statement.
"With the reopening and the expected surge in passengers ahead of Passover, we've hired dozens of new security and operations staff and continue our recruitment campaign, offering improved employment conditions."
Eshet Tours Marketing VP Shirley Cohen Orkaby told Ynet, "This is great news for Israeli aviation and a strong incentive for low-cost airlines to return to Israel and increase flight frequency. Terminal 1’s reopening will also drive down prices to Europe in the medium and long term, expand destination options and ease congestion at Terminal 3."
Meanwhile, Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced it will expand its Israel operations to 17 routes with 117 weekly flights. At a press briefing, company spokesperson Andras Rado said Wizz Air will resume summer flights to Greece’s Rhodes and Crete and increase service in March and April, including at least one daily flight to Vienna, Abu Dhabi, Budapest, Rome, London and Warsaw.
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Additional news came from Lufthansa Group, which announced an expansion of flights to Israel and better connectivity to the U.S. "Starting this week, our group’s weekly flights — operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — will increase from 35 to 60," the company said. "This includes a significant boost in overnight flights, allowing Israeli passengers to travel to North America via Europe with immediate onward connections."
Several major airlines are also set to resume service to Israel in the coming months. United Airlines will restart flights from the U.S. in March, followed by Delta Air Lines in April, marking the end of a months-long suspension since the war began in October 2023.
British Airways will resume flights on April 5, initially offering one daily flight between Tel Aviv and London, increasing to two daily flights from April 20.
Other airlines returning to Israel include: Air India with five weekly flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi; Air Baltic with three weekly flights to Riga starting April 2; Iberia Express with daily Tel Aviv-Madrid flights from April 1 and Hainan Airlines with two weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing from April 10, in addition to its existing direct route to Shenzhen.