Heathrow to Tel Aviv services will involve a stop in Cyprus due to complications from rules governing flying hours and BA's decision not to let crew stay in Israel between flights.
Business reporter @SkyNewsBiz
Friday 9 February 2024 09:36, UK
British Airways (BA) has revealed plans to resume flights to and from Israel, beginning in April.
The airline, which suspended services to Tel Aviv in October amid the growing hostilities between Israel and Hamas, said it was aiming to launch four return services per week from 1 April.
A statement said: "We've taken the commercial decision to move Tel Aviv to our short-haul network when we restart our flights on 1 April.
"This aligns these flights with other similar length flights we operate, and we'll keep this decision under review."
It was understood that the decision to use smaller aircraft reflected the likelihood of weak demand due to the continued fighting in the region.
The aim to restart operations would be kept under review because of the evolving nature of the conflict, BA added.
Customers already booked on flights to and from Tel Aviv will be contacted and offered the option to rebook onto a new short-haul flight, request a refund or re-book onto an alternative service.
BA said that the Heathrow-Tel Aviv flights would involve a 45-minute stop in Cyprus to allow for a crew change.
This was due to the fact that flight staff were not currently able to stay in Tel Aviv on safety grounds, BA explained, and rules around flying hours had to be strictly enforced.
Read more from Sky News:Heaters sold on TikTok and Temu 'could explode'Tesco Bank sold to Barclays in deal worth up to £1bn
Be the first to get
Install the Sky News app for free
BA was among most major international airlines, bar El Al, to pause services to Tel Aviv as hostilities deepened between Israel and Hamas last year.
Sky News Footer
