Ryanair recently reactivated flight connections to Tel Aviv. But soon it will be over again - at least for the time being. This time the discontinuation is not for security reasons, but because the fees that the low-cost airline has to pay for using Terminal 3 are too high.

Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air usually use Terminal 1 of Israel's largest airport. However, this is temporarily out of service because the number of passengers has fallen significantly due to the war launched by Hamas in October 2023. Many airlines still do not fly to the Israeli metropolis at all or only to a small extent. The airport has temporarily taken Terminal 1 offline due to lack of demand and all flights must therefore use Terminal 3.

However, this requires higher fees from the airlines. The T1 has a somewhat sparser design and is explicitly designated as a low-cost terminal. It doesn't suit Ryanair at all that you don't have to pay the reduced usage fees of Terminal 3 in Terminal 1, but the regular ones that apply to T3. Negotiations apparently did not bring the desired result, so the low-cost airline will not fly to/from Tel Aviv at all in the calendar months of March and April 2024. All flight connections are canceled.

Local media fear that Ryanair's decision could literally set a precedent, as Easyjet and Wizz Air are also said to be complaining massively about the fact that higher fees have to be paid to use Terminal 3, which you actually don't want to use otherwise in T1. In addition, demand for flights to/from Israel remains at a very modest level. Due to the ongoing war, the otherwise strong tourist demand is virtually non-existent. There is therefore speculation in local newspapers that Ryanair and/or Wizz Air could also temporarily suspend their Tel Aviv flights because of the T3 fees. Both carriers do not want to comment on this.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Ryanair has confirmed that it has regrettably canceled its reduced flight schedule to/from Tel Aviv from Tuesday 27 February due to the closure of Ben-Gurion International Airport's Terminal 1 for low-cost airlines is no longer accessible. Ryanair previously flew to low-cost Terminal 1, which has not yet reopened, while high-cost Terminal 3 is the only terminal currently open at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Ryanair remains loyal to Tel Aviv and looks forward to resuming operations once the low-cost Terminal 1 reopens. The affected passengers have been notified and informed of their options. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to passengers by these unfortunate cancellations.”