As soon as the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October last year, most international airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv for an indefinite period. In January, Ryanair was among the first airline to announce its return to Israel, starting in March, but now, in light of higher airport fees, the airline has announced it would not be restarting flights after all.
Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport completely closed in October and while it has in the meantime reopened, only Terminal 3 is now operational. Ryanair, together with other low cost airlines, used to service Terminal 1, which had lower fees, especially designated for low fare carriers.
“Ryanair today (13 Feb) confirmed that it has regrettably cancelled its reduced schedule of flights to/from Tel Aviv from Tues, 27th Feb due to the Ben-Gurion International Airport’s low-cost Terminal 1 no longer being accessible for low-cost, low-fare airlines. Ryanair previously operated to the low-cost Terminal 1, which has not yet been re-opened with high-cost Terminal 3 being the only terminal currently open at Ben-Gurion International Airport”, the airline confirmed for Aviation24, saying that it would resume flights as soon as Terminal 1 reopens.
The Israeli airport authority has said that, given the geopolitical circumstances, it would not be economically feasible to operate more than one terminal. In light of this decision, Ryanair asked to be charged the same lower fees at Terminal 3 that it used to pay at Terminal 1, but its request has been denied, leasing to the suspension of the flights.
“At the current passenger volume, there is no economic justification for operating two terminals. Terminal 1 will return to activity if passenger volumes warrant so”, the Israel Airports Authority said in a statement. “Flights departing from Terminal 3 are subject to airport fees according to the set price. All airlines, including Ryanair, were aware of this before resuming activity.”
This is not the first time Ryanair scraps a destination due to airport fees. CEO Michale O’Leary has been adamant in his protest against airport authorities setting high fees for years. In January last year, he permanently closed the base at Brussels Airport due to a “stupid tax” and the airports decision to raise prices on top of it.
Then, in October, O’Leary warned that high airport charges would cause “irreparable damage” to the tourism industry of the Portuguese region of Madeira. He subsequently closed the base at Azores Airport and announced in November that Ryanair would be reducing its operations in Portugal overall because they had fallen “victims of the ANA/Vinci monopoly, which has extraordinarily increased airport charges”.
