easyJet Cancels Israel Flights Until October 2024

easyJet has announced that it will suspend flights to Tel Aviv and, therefore, Israel for six months.

The major budget European airline cites the ongoing conflict escalation in Israel and Iran as a key reason why it’ll be pausing flights.

As part of the revised flight schedule, the airline is suspending flights until October 27, 2024, at the earliest. For customers who booked flights between now and then, the airline says it’ll provide refunds alongside full support for travel reorganisation.

The airline’s suspension of service for the remainder of the full summer schedule is a significant development, notably the first.

easyJet’s typical schedule saw flights towards Tel Aviv from several locations within the United Kingdom alone. Notably, Luton, Manchester, and Gatwick were all ports with nonstop connections to the city in Israel.

Several airlines had yet to resume flights to Israel following the conflict breakout in the final quarter of 2023. Major U.S. airline United had returned to the market only weeks ago. However, Delta and American Airlines’ counterparts remained more hesitant, with recommencement expected in a few months.

Airlines within Europe are making calculated movements to assess the best course of action amid the ongoing conflict. Several customers, such as Wizz Air and British Airways, have said they will monitor the situation, but flights will continue.

At one point across the most recent weekend, there were visible concerns that conflict escalation could result in another lengthy airspace closure. While this outcome is still possible, it would have ramifications for many.

While not all airlines fly directly towards Israel, they overfly the airspace, and in the last week, schedules have shifted as rerouting has been forced to occur. This has affected stopover points for companies like Qantas and many other airlines.