Ben Gurion’s Terminal 1 Closes as Low-Cost Airlines Avoid Israel’s Skies
Ben Gurion airport is shutting down Terminal 1 again, as budget airlines show no signs of returning to the country. Starting Friday, the terminal will remain closed until March 2025, with the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) citing a sharp drop in traffic to just 20,000 passengers per day.
The writing was on the wall. Three major low-cost carriers have already pulled their operations: Wizz Air has canceled all flights until January 2025, while Ryanair and easyJet won’t touch down in Tel Aviv until at least March 2025. Only domestic flights to the southern resort city of Eilat will keep using the terminal, as all international traffic shifts to Terminal 3.
For budget carriers, the closure stings. Terminal 1’s stripped-down facilities, including limited duty-free stores and a smaller passenger hall, meant significantly lower operating costs. Now, being forced to use the more expensive Terminal 3 could make them think twice about coming back, even when regional stability improves.
We’ve seen this before. After the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, Terminal 1 went dark as flights consolidated to Terminal 3 for security reasons.
When foreign low-cost airlines gradually started returning, Ryanair made headlines by resuming flights in February, only to halt them again in March, protesting the much higher airport taxes at Terminal 3 while Terminal 1 remained closed.
On Saturday, Dubai-based Flydubai temporarily suspended its Israel routes, citing security concerns following recent tensions with Iran.
While Flydubai plans to resume operations, other carriers continue to avoid Israel’s skies. British Airways has pushed back its return to spring 2025, while Bulgaria Air and Air Seychelles have suspended flights until late 2024 and early 2025, respectively.
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