Air Haifa announced this morning that it will officially receive the first aircraft in its fleet at the end of this month. The plane will take off from Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France and land at Haifa International airport at the end of the month. The brand new ATR 72-600 aircraft has 72 seats and Air Haifa will receive two more such planes in the coming months.
Air Haifa is in the later stages of the process of receiving its operating license from Israel's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the new airline expects to complete the process in September and begin selling tickets and operating scheduled flights from Haifa.
Air Haifa is expected to operate flights between Haifa and Eilat as well as to destinations in the eastern Mediterranean in Cyprus and Greece.
Nir Zuk among the founders
Behind Air Haifa are several big names in Israel. Among its founders are the entrepreneur and founder of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, Nir Zuk, Strauss Group CEO Shai Babad; former El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin; former El Al VP marketing Michael Strassburger, and former ZIM CEO Rafi Danieli.
Air Haifa cofounder and CEO Usishkin said, "We are very excited about the arrival of Air Haifa's first plane in Israel. "Air Haifa is the first Israeli airline founded since the 1990s, and we are proud, especially at this time, to be the first commercial airline in the country's history whose base of operations is at Haifa International Airport. We await the completion of the company's licensing process, and upon its completion and receipt of the licenses required by the Civil Aviation Authority, we will announce the date for the launch of the activity and start selling tickets."
Huge news
The Ministry of Transport said, "In a professional discussion held yesterday at Haifa Municipality, Minister Miri Regev said that at the end of the month the first Air Haifa plane will land in Israel, and immediately after that the official licensing process will begin. The company's commercial flights will operate during the month of September
"The entry of the new company into the market is an historic precedent, in which for the first time in decades, Minister Regev worked together with the director general of her ministry and with the Civil Aviation Authority to introduce another Israeli airline to operate in the State of Israel. Following the vision of Minister of Transport Regev, to increase competition and strengthen connectivity within Israel and abroad, the company will operate flights from Haifa to Eilat as well as to nearby destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean basin such as Greece and Turkey.
"This is great news for the residents of Haifa and the north, Eilat and the nearby towns, who will be served by additional flights close to their homes."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 9, 2024.
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