Ryanair will not be exhibiting the slightest indicators of resuming flights to Israel. The controversial Irish low-cost Airline, which offers minimal providers to maintain fares as little as potential, operated 16 routes from Tel Aviv final yr together with 5 routes to Italy alone: Rome, Naples, Venice, Turin, and Bari, and was a significant purpose for retaining fares low to Italy. In its absence, Israeli and overseas airways are already seizing the chance and aiming to take over the routes to Italy.
El Al subsidiary Solar Dor introduced final week that it’s going to start working flights to Cagliari and Catania beginning on the finish of Could. A few month in the past, the corporate introduced further flights to Naples from April. That is along with the routes El Al already operates to Rome, Venice and Milan. Wizz Air can be increasing in southern Italy: about two weeks in the past, the corporate introduced further flights from Tel Aviv to Palermo, after already including a path to Venice in December and to Naples in October.
Israeli-owned airways have additionally entered the Israel-Italy fray. Blue Chook will quickly launch a path to Milan, and TUS Airways plans so as to add a path to Bologna. In December, Israir introduced that it will launch flights to Bologna and Bari beginning in 2026, which might be added to its current locations in Italy – Rome, Verona and Naples.
The vacuum left at German airports
Not like Italy, the vacuum left at secondary airports in Germany – Baden-Baden and Memmingen – to which Ryanair operated flights, has not been stuffed. Immediately, these locations can’t be reached by direct flights from Israel.
easyJet, which is predicted to renew Israel flights in April, doesn’t fly to Germany, and because it didn’t keep a steady dedication to the Israeli market all through the struggle, may need a change of coronary heart over safety issues., Thus solely Israeli corporations and Israeli-owned corporations nonetheless fly to Berlin.
Nonetheless, one other participant will function one other German route. Condor Airways (identified for its colorfully striped planes) is predicted to start working in Israel this Could and supply direct flights to Frankfurt. It is going to be part of Lufthansa and El Al, which presently function common flights on the route. That is along with Munich, to the place solely Lufthansa and Israeli corporations function flights.
As well as, Ryanair additionally operated a route between Tel Aviv and Vilnius in Lithuania. The businesses which might be presently filling this vacuum are Wizz Air, which operates flights to Vilnius, in addition to Israir and Arkia, which introduced further flights on this route earlier this week.
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The worth of Ryanair in Israel can’t be underestimated
The worth of Ryanair in Israel can’t be underestimated. Final April, the Irish low-cost service resumed flights to Israel for a short while, and was providing among the lowest fares accessible, generally for lower than $50 for a round-trip ticket, with minimal providers which might be worthwhile for many who wish to fly with solely a backpack.
However as a consequence of safety instability Ryanair halted operations in Israel. The Houthi missile that fell on Ben Gurion Airport in Could 2025 and the struggle with Iran noticed all flights stop for months. When Ryanair requested to return, about six months later, it found that the takeoff and touchdown slots that it thought had been reserved for it at Terminal 1 had been transferred to different corporations. Consequently, a well-publicized battle developed with the Israel Airports Authority, which insisted that preferential circumstances at Ben Gurion Airport are usually not maintained for many who had halted operations. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary even spoke out publicly on the problem, saying that the corporate was shedding endurance.
Halting operations in Israel “affected the construction of provide”
Ryanair has since eliminated Israel from the record of locations on its web site whereas increasing its flight community. Within the Center East, for instance, Ryanair flies to Jordan. It has additionally expanded its operations to and from key cities throughout Europe to Jordan, as a part of establishing the Hashemite Kingdom as a significant vacation spot for low-cost flights to the Center East. This winter Ryanair has expanded Amman to incorporate 18 direct routes to 12 international locations within the EU, and 84 weekly flights in whole – a quantity much like that operated by the corporate in Israel.
Assaf Greenberg, VP of Advertising and marketing on the web site lastminute.co.il, says, “Ryanair’s exit from the Israeli market didn’t create a scarcity, however modified the construction of provide. As an alternative of 1 low-cost participant, we see a dispersion of operations between Wizz Air, Solar Dor, Blue Chook and TUS Airways, which improve frequencies and launch locations the place a vacuum has been created. For the patron, this interprets primarily into competitors that enables discovering low cost and accessible alternate options and so it’s price evaluating fares earlier than shopping for tickets.”
Printed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on February 18, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
