Ryanair has announced it will not restart flights to and from Tel Aviv this winter due to an ongoing row over airport slots.
The Irish airline serves Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport – Israel’s main air transport hub – from a number of places in mainland and southern Europe – including Italy, Germany, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus. It does not fly direct to Israel from Ireland or the UK.
The row surrounds the confirmation of slots and the availability of the lower-cost Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion, instead of the need to use the higher cost Terminal 3 facility.
Ryanair said that as well as its Tel Aviv services being disrupted, this summer, due to security concerns, the airport was repeatedly moving services to the higher cost Terminal 3 and charging low fares operators – such as Ryanair – the higher T3 costs, instead of the usual lower T1 fees. As a result, Ryanair claims its Israel routes are now loss-making.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “We are fed up having our low-fare flights repeatedly messed around by Ben Gurion Airport. It is absurd that they refused to confirm our summer 2026 slots, when summer 2026 schedules are already on sale. We appreciate that many airlines – including Ryanair – cancelled their flights to/from Tel Aviv this summer, but only because it was unsafe to operate there.
“We are not willing to restart loss-making flights to/from Tel Aviv for the winter season, without the certainty that our summer 2026 historic slots have been confirmed. It is also unacceptable to Ryanair and our low-fare, price sensitive passengers, that our growth at Tel Aviv Airport is dependent upon the availability of the low-cost T1 facility. However, Tel Aviv Airport keeps closing this facility for its own convenience, forcing Ryanair, and other low-cost airlines, into the more expensive T3 – where we do not want to be – but they refuse to honour the low-cost agreement, which T1 facilities provide.
“We have no difficulty working with Tel Aviv Airport to temporarily move to T3 – if that suits the needs and convenience of Ben Gurion
Airport – but these services should continue to be costed at the T1 rates, and not at the T3 rates. Ryanair has sold thousands of low-fare seats, which are contingent upon the low-cost facilities in T1 remaining open and available.
“Until such time as Ben Gurion Airport confirm our historic S26 slots, and confirm that they will in future keep T1 open, we will not restart low-fare flights to/from Tel Aviv this winter.
“We regret this means that Tel Aviv will no longer have access to Ryanair’s much lower fares, or to the 22 routes we operated last winter, but until such time as Tel Aviv are willing to honour their low-cost agreements with Ryanair, we are unwilling to restart flights there. Should Ben Gurion wish to confirm our summer 2026 slots and confirm that they will honour our low-cost T1 agreement, then we will look forward to returning to Tel Aviv with Ryanair’s services, offering 22 routes at fares which no other airline in Tel Aviv can match, or compete with.”
