‍DALLAS – Virgin Atlantic (VS) has decided to discontinue all services between London Heathrow (LHR) and Tel Aviv (TLV), Israel.

The London-based airline has announced that it will not return to Israel. VS has permanently scrapped flights on this route. VS halted flights between LHR and TLV in October 2023, following the Hamas attacks and the danger this presented to airline operations. 

Since the escalation of violence and instability in the region, VS has postponed resuming its services several times. The airline announced that it would resume daily services in September 2024, but after the escalation in the security situation in the region, VS altered this decision. 

Then, in November 2024, VS postponed the restart of its TLV route to October 2025. The airline said that the cause for the delay was due to challenges arising from the availability of spare parts for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, which are adapted to the Boeing 787-9 aircraft used to operate the route. 

Connections With Codeshare Partners

Though it will no longer operate scheduled flights to Israel, VS will continue to operate a codeshare partnership with El Al (LY), enabling connectivity between LHR and TLV. LY operates up to four flights a day on this routing. The partnership will also provide travellers with connections to other destinations in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Customers affected by the cancellation of the route and who booked their flight directly through Virgin Atlantic will receive a notification by email. We apologize for the inconvenience and continue to work to provide the highest level of service even during this transition period." The airline said.

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