Low-cost giants Ryanair are rumored to be preparing to launch flights to Tel Aviv, Israel. The move would further revolutionize the Israeli aviation market which is currently dominated by legacy carriers such as El Al. Other low-cost carriers have had successful experiences with Tel Aviv as a destination, among them Easyjet, Germanwings, Air Berlin, and TUIfly, although Ryanair’s launch of Tel Aviv flights would likely have a dramatic impact on lowering costs.
**Update December 2016: The first Ryanair flights to Tel Aviv are announced**
The rumors have been repeated a few times over the past few years. Now, in April 2015, they have resurfaced and Ryanair re-stated their goal to fly for 140 Euro from European cities to Tel Aviv.
Ryanair intends to eventually launch forty routes between Tel Aviv and European cities. Whilst it is currently unclear which cities the routes will link, if they were to fly between their home-country of Ireland, or even the UK, and Tel Aviv, it would be by far their longest route.
Whatever happens, an announcement this week declared that no agreement would be signed with Ryanair before the upcoming Israeli elections – an agreement could be devastating for carriers such as El Al, but would likely bring hundreds of thousands of new tourists to Israel, and lower the cost of travel overseas for Israelis.
Israel does have some budget options at the moment – check out our guide to flying to Israel to see all the options.
