Travelers face soaring airfares as most international airlines continue to avoid service to Israel

A week after the United States and Qatar brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, most American and European airlines are still avoiding Israeli airspace due to security concerns. Because of a lack of international options, Israeli travelers once again face limited and very expensive air rates offered by local Israeli airlines during the peak of the summer travel season. 

Mark Feldman, the CEO of the Ziontours Jerusalem travel agency, noted that the current prices are even higher than last summer’s already excessive rates. 

“As expensive and as shocking as ticket prices were last summer, we have hit new record highs to destinations such as New York and Los Angeles or London or Rome. Prices are at least 10 to 15% higher than they were last year,” Feldman explained during an interview with the Times of Israel. 

“Since there is little competition to Israeli airlines, tickets to Rome in August are selling for $950. Last year they were selling for around $800 or $850 [on those airlines], and two years ago for $500.”

“People are buying the tickets and are paying the price because they can’t wait for foreign airlines, especially the low-cost carriers, to come back,” Feldman explained.

International airlines have frequently canceled flights to and from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war involving Iran and its terrorist proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

Many international airlines canceled their flights to Israel in early May after a Houthi missile landed near Ben Gurion International Airport. Despite the current ceasefire between Iran and Israel, airlines such as Ryanair, Swiss International Air Lines, EasyJet, and British Airways have extended the suspension of flights to and from the Holy Land due to the ongoing volatile security situation.

As a result, Israelis and the few international tourists currently have limited travel options, relying on expensive flights operated by Israeli airlines like El Al, Israir, and Arkia to destinations in Europe and the United States.

Yaneev Lanis, the founder of the online booking site Secret Flights, expressed cautious optimism that the situation would eventually stabilize and improve. 

“Hopefully, it will stay quiet in our region, and we will see more and more foreign airlines coming back, but in case they don’t come back or if they come back with an extremely limited capacity, then it’s going to be a very tough summer for travel because there is limited capacity of the Israeli airlines that are operating,” Lanis assessed. 

“A lot of their seats are already sold, and after the Iran war, more Israelis are prioritizing purchasing with Israeli airlines because of their reliability [in case of further conflict], even if it costs them more,” he continued.

Despite the excessive prices, Lanis predicted that all tickets would eventually be sold out due to the high demand from Israeli travelers. 

“Prices are rising, and eventually everything is going to be sold out – so it won’t even be a matter of price.” 

The open war between Iran and Israel also resulted in tens of thousands of Israelis being stranded abroad due to the closure of Israeli airspace and suspension of all flights. Some stranded Israelis have faced the growing rise of global antisemitism since the Oct. 7 massacre. 

Looking ahead, Feldman predicted that international airlines will only return to the Israeli market if they believe it is financially viable. 

“Foreign airlines will only come back if there’s an economic incentive for them to do so and there is enough business from the Israeli market,” he assessed. “Because nothing has changed in terms of incoming tourism as Israel is still at war in Gaza, it’s hard, as we go into the summer season, to see a rationale for many European and US airlines to return. If they put their planes on routes that are more profitable and certainly more stable, I will not be surprised."

In May, 20 international airlines demanded that Israel pass legal reforms and passenger compensation for cancelled flights as a prerequisite for resuming flights to and from Israel.