ITTN’s Stephen Aherne attended the launch of EL AL Airlines inaugural Dublin – Tel Aviv flight at Dublin Airport last night.
EL AL will operate three weekly flights between Dublin and Tel Aviv on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays on a Boeing 737 aircraft offering both economy and business class as well as full on board service. The flight time is approximately six hours.
A special celebratory stand was put in place at the gate for photo opportunities which were followed by speeches from Vincent Harrison, Managing Director of Dublin Airport, Oranit Beithalahmy, Senior Director for Central-West Europe & Africa at EL AL Israel Airlines and Liromne Bar Sadeh, Ambassador of Israel to Ireland.
Vincent Harrison began by speaking about how he looked forward to the beginning of the relationship between the airport and the airline, after EL AL was forced to scrap its original plans for a direct Dublin – Tel Aviv route back in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions. He also spoke about how the new direct flight will strengthen the business links between Dublin and Tel Aviv and how the route will be popular with Irish tourists, saying “The addition of this direct route will open up a new sun destination for Irish travellers and is likely to prove popular also with those seeking to make a pilgrimage journey to the Holy Land. The route will also come as good news to the ever-growing number of Israeli businesses that are present in Ireland.”
Oranit Beithalahmy, Senior Director for Central-West Europe & Africa at EL AL Israel Airlines, then gave a short speech thanking Dublin Airport, the Israeli Embassy and EL AL’s GSA in Ireland, ATTS Travel Representation Solutions, for their help in making the new route possible. She was followed by Liromne Bar Sadeh, Ambassador of Israel to Ireland, who thanked ATTS and EL AL, as well as both Dublin Airport and Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for their continued support.
EL AL is the only airline operating direct flights from Dublin to Tel Aviv. Flights will depart Dublin Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
