Ryanair has announced that it is suspending all flights to and from Israel, just a month after resuming operations. The airline stated that the decision was due to being forced to operate at the more expensive Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport, which would result in higher airfares for passengers.
Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson criticized the airport for keeping the low-cost Terminal 1 closed and charging fees that were never agreed upon.
The suspension will affect flights to 26 destinations throughout Europe and could last through the Yomim Noraim in the fall. Wizz Air and Easyjet will continue to operate flights to Europe in place of Ryanair.
Ryanair initially suspended flights to and from Israel due to the outbreak of war on October 7 and the risk of rocket attacks on Ben Gurion Airport from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. However, the airline resumed flights on February 1 as the threat of rocket attacks decreased with Hamas’ depleted rocket supply and damaged military capabilities.
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2 Responses
Quite honestly it sounds like Ryanair has a point. They started flying with a cheaper structure in place and they are all about the numbers. NatBG could find a way to open the old terminal so they can charge Ryanair the lower cost.
Obviously there are less low cost flights so it might not pay to open a separate terminal but NatBG should take the loss.
Letting Ryanair pay less but using the main terminal would cause other airlines to demand lower fees so that can’t be done.
Currently, only about a dozen of the 50+ foreign airlines that served EY prior to the Hamas attack have resumed service. Its really important to find some way to reopen Terminal 1 which saves the airline $30-$40 (USD) per passenger. I was skeptical that such a relatively small amount would be a deciding factor and the real reasons were “political” but apparently to the the discount airlines, that small cost differential is apparently a big deal.