Ryanair drops Tel Aviv entirely as tensions with ‘Israel’ escalate

Irish low cost carrier Ryanair has removed Tel Aviv from its online destination map, reinforcing its earlier decision to halt all flights to ‘Israel’ for the 2025–2026 winter season. The move, reported by the Hebrew newspaper Maariv on Wednesday, leaves the future of the airline’s operations in ‘Israel’ unclear.

Ryanair has not issued a formal announcement regarding a permanent withdrawal. However, the disappearance of Tel Aviv from its route map suggests that services are unlikely to resume in the near term.

According to newspaper, the destination was not simply marked as suspended but fully removed from the list of available locations on the company’s website.

Read more: Ryanair unveils winter flights to Amman, connecting Jordan to 18 European cities

Tensions with aviation authorities

Ryanair previously confirmed the immediate and indefinite suspension of all flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), following an unresolved commercial standoff with the “Israel Airports Authority” (IAA).

The decision, which removed 22 routes and 1 million seats from the ‘Israeli’ market for the winter 2025/2026 schedule, was triggered by the airport’s refusal to grant two key demands: a guarantee of low-cost operating rates and the confirmation of the airline’s future flight slots.

A Ryanair spokesperson expressed the company’s frustration, stating, "We are fed up having our low-fare flights repeatedly messed around by Ben Gurion Airport".

Read more: Ryanair suspends all ‘Israel’ flights over dispute with Ben Gurion Airport

The latest step follows months of tension between the airline and ‘Israeli’ aviation authorities. In September, Ryanair stated that delays in slot approvals and the closure of Terminal 1 had made its Tel Aviv operations unworkable. Ben Gurion Airport rejected those claims and accused the airline of mishandling its own scheduling.

Ryanair confirmed at the time that its winter flights to Tel Aviv would be canceled and that capacity would be shifted to other markets, indicating a significant deprioritization of ‘Israel’ within the company’s network planning.

Uncertain future for Ryanair in ‘Israel’

Earlier this year, the airline warned that it might not return to ‘Israel’ at all unless regulatory issues were resolved. It also cited security conditions and operational challenges faced by foreign carriers flying to Ben Gurion.

While several international airlines have gradually restored services to ‘Israel’ after earlier suspensions, Ryanair has taken the opposite direction. Its removal of Tel Aviv from all destination listings, coupled with the cancellation of 22 routes and one million seats, highlights the scale of its pullback from the market.

For now, there is no indication that Ryanair intends to resume operations before mid 2026, leaving the future of its presence in ‘Israel’ uncertain.