Air Haifa to begin operations on Monday

Air Haifa credit: ATR
Air Haifa credit: ATR

The Haifa-based carrier had planned operating flights from Haifa airport but due to the escalation in the north, flights until Yom Kippur will depart and arrive at Ben Gurion airport.

New Israeli airline Air Haifa has announced that it has received an operations license from the Ministry of Transport and has officially begun selling tickets on its website. The Haifa-based carrier had originally planned operating flights from Haifa airport but due to the escalation in the north, and the closure of airspace from Haifa northwards, the first flights will depart and arrive at Ben Gurion airport.

From Monday September 30 through to the eve of Yom Kippur, Air Haifa will operate two daily flights between Ben Gurion airport and Eilat for NIS 99 in each direction.

After Yom Kippur, the company plans to operate flights from Haifa airport. The first flight to Eilat from Haifa will take off on Sunday October 13 and on Monday October 14 the first Air Haifa flight will take off from Haifa to Larnaca in Cyprus. Flight from Haifa will be subject to the security situation and is liable to change.

Fare from Haifa to Eilat will be NIS 139 in each direction and from Haifa to Cyprus $64 in each direction. All tickets purchased can be canceled and credited against a future flight up to 24 hours before takeoff.

Ticket prices include a free bag to be placed under the seat with additional products that can be purchased including a cabin bag, and suitcase in the hold.

Aviation industry skepticism

Before the airline began its operations in Israel, the local aviation industry doubted Air Haifa's ability to get off the ground, even though it has potential for reducing congestion at Ben Gurion airport and providing fast service for passengers, and for northern residents in particular. In the past, many airlines operated at Haifa airport and stopped, among other things, due to restrictions at the old Haifa airport, which included the inability to extend the existing runway and bring in larger planes, and the lack of parking or transport access.

Air Haifa's aircraft fleet includes two ATR 72-600 aircraft with 72 seats, and in the coming months additional aircraft are expected to be added to the fleet. The industry has also questioned the operating model, since low-cost companies do not operate such planes. Airplanes of low-cost carriers usually have 180 seats. Other low cost airlines need as many passengers as possible to be financially viable. The turboprop planes are indeed fuel efficient, but as explained in the industry, the ability to bring in money is limited when there are so few passengers.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 26, 2024.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.

Air Haifa credit: ATR
Air Haifa credit: ATR
Unframe founders credit: Yossi Yarom Israeli AI enterprise platform co Unframe raises $50m

Unframe’s turnkey AI solutions enable companies to solve any enterprise AI use case at scale with fully functional, customized AI solutions for businesses in a matter of hours, rather than months.

Combatica credit: Combatica Combatica launches next-gen VR AI training platform

The Israeli company's virtual reality platform includes 50 AI generated scenarios, seven maps and even situations for operating night vision.

Shekel credit: Shutterstock Vladirina 32 Shekel volatility after US tariffs announcement

The shekel is weakening sharply against the euro, which is gaining following the unveiling of Donald Trump's tariffs plan.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Noam Moskovitz Knesset Spokesperson Treasury assesses potential damage to Israel's US exports

Israel will be charged a higher tariff on its exports to the US - its biggest export customer - than Turkey and the UAE.

Iranian flag credit: Shutterstock Why inflation haunts Iran

With a month-on-month increase of 3.3% and an annual rate of 37.1%, inflation reflects the struggles of millions of Iranians.

APM merges with lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman credit: Eyal Merilos APM merges with 12 lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman

With the addition of these 12 lawyers, Amit Pollak Matalon & Co. will now have 135 lawyers.

US President Donald Trump credit: Reuters Sipa USA Israel on list as Trump unveils tariffs

Relatively low reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on Israeli goods sold in the US.

Deflated unicorn credit: Shutterstock Big Tech 50 reports more huge falls in startup valuations

Israeli R&D partnership Big Tech 50 reports that an investment of $2 million in Orcam made in 2021, shrank to just $31,000 at the end of 2024.

NextFerm technologies based on yeast credit: NextFerm Food-tech co NextFerm suspends operations

The company, which produces food ingredients in yeast without genetic engineering, cannot pay its debts and is seeking a buyer.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Shlomi Yosef OECD sees recovery in growth but high inflation

The OECD Israel Economic Survey 2025 recommends that the Israeli government take several restraining measures, in order to exit the economic storm created by the war.

Dano Ben-Hur credit: Dror Sithakol Statisticians contradict BoI on impact of housing finance deals

The Central Bureau of Statistics insists the impact of 20/80 buy now pay later financing deals on the real estate market and housing prices is minimal.

Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron  credit: Government Press Office Debt fears top Bank of Israel's concerns

Most unusually, Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron's press conference last week did not focus on inflation and the impending interest rate decision.

US President Donald Trump  credit: Reuters/Leah Millis Israel moves to avoid Trump's tariffs axe

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich has signed an order canceling all tariffs on imports from the US. The impact will mostly be on agricultural produce.

Forbes Rich List credit: Shutterstock Maslowski Marcin Wiz founders ranked in Forbes 2025 Rich List

There are a few dozen Israelis listed in the 2025 Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List including Wiz founders Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik and Ami Luttwak.

SatixFy CEO Nir Barkan credit: Ariel Barkan Canada's MDA Space to buy Israeli satcom co SatixFy

MDA Space will pay $269 million for the Israeli company, including taking on a $76 million debt and a 75% premium on SatixFy's closing price on Nasdaq yesterday.

Raising dollars credit: Shutterstock Israeli startups raised over $1b in March

Israeli privately-held tech companies have raised $2.1 billion in the first three months of 2025, according to IVC-LeumiTech, up 24% from the corresponding quarter of 2024.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018