British Airways returns to Tel Aviv – with a downgraded service

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British Airways will resume flights to Tel Aviv from 1 April 2024 – however with a much-reduced service from London Heathrow.

Before the assault by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023, British Airways flew two long-haul Boeing 787s every day between the UK and Israel.

When flights to Tel Aviv begin once more, a single short-haul Airbus A320 will function 4 days a week.

The configuration will probably be as for European flights, with the enterprise class supply comprising the center seat folded down – as opposed to a flat mattress within the long-haul premium providing.

Initially the flight from London will land en route at Larnaca in Cyprus for a crew change. Passengers is not going to want to go away the plane in the course of the cease, which is timed for 45 minutes.

A brand new crew will be part of for the remaining 210 miles from Larnaca to Ben Gurion International Airport, outdoors Tel Aviv. The return flight to London Heathrow will function nonstop.

The crew change is meant to enable most flexibility if Tel Aviv is taken into account too dangerous to land. With a nonstop journey from London, the choices for returning to base can be constrained by flight hour limits.

This month a variety of main airways, together with Air France, Lufthansa and Ryanair, have resumed flights to Tel Aviv from airports in Continental Europe.

Wizz Air is flying from Luton to Israel as soon as once more, in addition to hyperlinks from Budapest, Larnaca, Milan, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw.

The Israeli nationwide airline, El Al, has flown between London and Tel Aviv largely uninterrupted. El Al operates a full-service, long-haul configured Boeing 787 from Heathrow and a low-cost Boeing 737 hyperlink from Luton.

Britain’s greatest funds airline, easyJet, has not but introduced a resumption of its flights from the UK. The provider stated the choice is being saved underneath evaluation.

The Independent has requested Virgin Atlantic if and when it plans to resume flights from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv.