Multiple airlines cancel flights to Israel after Houthi missile strike at Ben-Gurion Airport; Lufthansa, Austrian, Air France, Wizz Air and Delta suspend service temporarily

May 6, 2025 (Haaretz) –

Israelis have found themselves stranded abroad again and are looking for a way home due to the security situation in Israel .

Following the Houthi missile strike on the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday morning, many foreign airlines such as Lufthansa , Austrian, Air France, Wizz Air and Delta announced they were canceling flights to Israel for a few days.

It is not clear yet whether the cancellations will be short term or extend for a longer period, which could lead to repercussions on the aviation industry. At this stage, no airline has announced a significant extension of the cancellations.

Shortly after the missile's landing, the airport resumed normal activity, with only a few flight delays. "If there are no further significant cancellations, the drama could end quickly," a senior aviation official said.

Meanwhile, many passengers in Israel and abroad are looking for travel solutions for the next few days. Avi, a reservist who has served three rounds in Gaza since the war began, took his son for a five-day trip to Paris . "We were already on Air France's flight back on Sunday morning," he says. "After about half an hour on the plane they took us off."

At first, their flight was delayed to Monday morning. The passengers received lodging and meals in the airport. But that evening the flight date was changed to Wednesday morning.

Avi decided not to take a chance. He canceled the Air France flights and ordered flights on El Al for Tuesday noon for 780 euros . "I'm losing a day's work and my son is losing a day at school, but if we didn't have El Al , it would be a real problem," he said. "I'm supposed to get a refund on the canceled flight, so the damage will be about 1,800 shekels ( $500 ), plus the hotel cost - 120 euros a night. I'm going to ask for a refund from the airline for everything. The money is relatively meaningless. The main thing is to get back."

Maayan, who relocated to Helsinki for a year, said on Monday: "I was planning to visit Israel for a few days to see the family and go to a friend's funeral. There have been no direct flights from Finland since the war began, so I had to get a connection. I ordered a flight on Ryanair to Budapest and from there to Tel Aviv ."

Maayan's flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday, but the airline hasn't told her yet if the flight from Budapest will take off. "There's a chance I'll find out only after I land in Budapest . I hope they'll be responsible and let me know at least the evening before," she said. "The original flight on Ryanair cost 392 shekels . I checked on Israir and there are nine seats left at $340 a ticket. On El Al , the closest available flight is May 8 for $315 ."

Sharon from Herzliya was scheduled to fly to Madrid on Tuesday with Iberia, which canceled flights for two days starting Sunday. Now he's waiting to hear if the cancellations will be extended and upset his plans. "My son, a combat officer, was supposed to be discharged on October 8, 2023 . Because of the war he stayed and fought in Gaza until he was discharged," he said. "Last October, we were supposed to go on a post-army trip that was canceled because of the situation then. The trip was postponed to tomorrow. We're supposed to go to Spain for a Pixies performance and are waiting for answers. I hope the war stops disrupting his post-army trip."

'A fair way to return to Israel '

El Al , Arkia and Israir announced they would beef up the flights to Larnaca, Budapest and Athens to help stranded passengers. Last time, the Israeli airlines were blasted for jacking up prices and exploiting the plight of the passengers who had to return to Israel . They charged up to $1,000 in one direction for flights to London , Paris and other European destinations.

The main problem was the cost of flights to New York , which were in high demand. At the time, it wasn't possible to get coach seats on El Al's flights to New York , while prices in premium and business classes started at $3,784 and $5,600 , respectively.

This time, due to the season in which the flight supply is relatively high (after Passover and before the summer holiday), flight prices rose a little because of last minute reservations, but not significantly. For example, one-way flights for Tuesday with Israir could be found on Monday to London for $306 and to Budapest for $106 .

In view of the situation, El Al published a list of "maximum prices for the next few weeks for a one-way ticket in economy class back to Israel ." This is "part of the effort to help extract Israelis who bought tickets from foreign airlines that canceled their flights." The list contains the following maximum prices for a ticket: from Larnaca $99 ; from Athens $149 ; from Thessaloniki $289 ; from Rome $333 ; from Barcelona $349 ; from Paris $392 ; from London Luton $424 ; and from New York $799 .

Shlomi Zafrany , El Al's vice president for commercial and industry affairs, said: "The maximum price policy is intended to help Israelis stuck abroadfollowing foreign airlines' flight cancellations to find a fair way to return to Israel . Israeli aviation bears a national responsibility to continue and connect Israel to the world these days, while giving solutions to Israelis who wish to return home."

The United States is still relatively expensive due to high demand. "The price of a one-way ticket to New York is supposed to cost around $800 , but the flights are full," an El Al official said. "Specifically, it's harder to return from New York due to high demand. We're committing to the price of $799 . A round-trip flight to New York costs $1,600 . We're not making money at the public's expense."