Israeli Carriers Increase Service to Cyprus, Greece

DALLAS — Three of Israel’s airlines have increased the frequency of their flights between Israel and Greece, as various airlines have suspended services into Israel.

El Al Israeli Airlines (LY) and two local carriers have added flights to destinations such as Greece and Cyprus to help Israelis stranded overseas travel home. Privately owned Arkia (IZ) and LY's subsidiary Sun d’Or (2U) have increased services to Larnaca (LCA) and Athens (ATH) to assist passengers in reaching Israel.  

This comes as a result of many foreign airlines having suspended flights to Israel due to rising tensions in the region and the threat of war with Iran.  As reported in the Hebrew media, around 150,000 Israelis are stuck outside Israel due to the latest flight suspensions. 

El Al said its recent efforts to bring Israelis home included additional flights and utilizing larger aircraft on existing routes to increase the number of seats to and from Israel. 

“El Al is making every effort to respond to the needs of the public to keep the airspace between Israel and the world open and help Israelis stranded abroad following the cancellation of flights by foreign companies,” the airline told the Times of Israel. 

Airlines Cancel Israel Services

The Lufthansa Group, which incorporates Austrian Airlines (OS), Brussels (SN) Airlines, Eurowings (EW), and Swiss (LX), on Monday canceled flights to Tel Aviv (TLV), Beirut (BEY) and Tehran (THR) until August 12. 

Delta Air Lines (DL) has extended the suspension of its TLV route until the end of the month, and United Airlines (UA) has suspended the route until further notice. Ryanair (FR) and Easyjet (U2) are the latest low-cost carriers to extend the cancellation of flights to and from TLV. U2 has suspended its services until March 29, 2025.  

Airlines that continue to fly to TLV include Blue Bird Airways (BZ), Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA).