Commercial flights resumed from Tel Aviv after Israel lifted the state of emergency and reopened its airspace. Ben Gurion, the country’s international airport pillar, confirmed that flights have resumed.
However, a statement from the site said: “We recommend that you check the flight schedule on the Israel Airports Authority website and confirm the status of your flight with the airline.”
The airport timetable for today (Thursday) lists flights to London by El Al and to Luton by Israir, as well as by the Cypriot carrier TUS Airways.
The majority of departures to European points are from El Al and the low-cost carrier Israir.
Similarly El Al has started to increase flights and add frequencies from key destinations where Israelis are still waiting to return home.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office yesterday updated its travel advice to Israel (Wednesday) to reflect the end of the state of emergency. It confirmed that Ben Gurion and Haifa Airport are restarting their operations, adding: “Commercial flights continue to operate from airports in the region to various destinations, including the UK.”
However, the FCDO warned: “The current situation has disrupted air links from the country and may disrupt road links and border crossings. It may take time for airports to return to normal levels of operation and flight availability. This is a rapidly evolving and fragile situation with the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning. Any attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreign nationals.”
International land border crossings to Jordan and Egypt are open, the FCDO said, but warned: “Regulations may change, or may be closed, without notice, including over the weekend.”
And those that continue to suspend flights
Most airlines extend their suspension of flights to and from Israel, citing ongoing concerns despite the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, and continue to bypass Iranian airspace despite the ceasefire.
The Irish airline Ryanair announced that it “will not resume flights to and from Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport before 25 October”, further prolonging its absence, after previously stating that it had suspended these flights until September.
Among the carriers that have suspended their flights are Swiss International Airlines, easyJet and British Airways, which have followed Ryanair’s line by cancelling their presence in Israel until 25 October.
While a United spokesman said the airline’s flights to and from Tel Aviv have been suspended until July 31.
Greek Aegean Airlines has proceeded to cancel all its flights to and from Tel Aviv, up to the morning flight on 08/09/25.
Also, Latvian airBaltic announced that all flights to and from Tel Aviv until 30 September have been cancelled.
Canadian carrier Air Canada has suspended its flights from Toronto to Dubai until 4 August.
The Spanish airline Air Europa announced that it has cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv until 31 July.
The French carrier Air France-KLM has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until 14 July.
US-based Delta Air Lines said that travel to, from or via Tel Aviv may be affected until 31 August.
Etihad Airways said it has cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv until 15 July.
Emirates announced that it is temporarily suspending flights to and from Iran and Iraq until 30 June.
Wizz Air announced that it has suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv until 15 September.
The prolonged suspensions come despite the full resumption of operations at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
“Restrictions on the number of incoming and outgoing flights, as well as the number of passengers on each flight, have been lifted,” the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) announced on Tuesday. It added: “In addition, restrictions on the arrival of passengers and attendants at airports have been lifted.”
Air carriers avoid Iranian airspace
Airlines continue to avoid Iranian airspace despite the Israel-Iran ceasefire, data from the flight tracking app Flightradar24 reveals. According to them, yesterday, 25 June, although airspace was open across Iran and the Middle East, airlines, with few exceptions, continued to fly around Iran, choosing instead to travel north over Turkey or south over Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The airlines most affected include those in the Gulf, particularly Emirates and Qatar Airways, as noted by Ian Petchenik, Flightradar24’s communications director.
Air India is another carrier affected, with the airline briefly suspending all flights in Europe and North America amid the conflict in the Middle East early last week. However, the Indian carrier resumed its US service on June 25, but flying over Saudi Arabia instead of following its normal northerly route over Iran. Air India does not fly over Pakistan because the country closed its airspace to Indian carriers earlier this year.
U.S. airlines are not allowed to fly over Iran under a longstanding FAA directive that foreign airlines operating code-shared flights with U.S. airlines are not allowed to fly over Iran.
The extra flight times when connecting west to east via the southern Egypt/Saudi Arabia route are typically 45 to 90 minutes, according to Mr. Petchenik, depending on the airflow.
The large number of adjustments to flight paths airlines are making to avoid Iran, which is twice the size of Texas, is leading to congestion on northern and southern alternate routes, with Petchenik saying this is a concern, but added that air traffic control operators in the affected areas appear to be handling the situation effectively.
