Air Haifa to launch Athens flights

Israeli airline Air Haifa will launch a new route between Haifa and Athens on Thursday, January 2. The airline will operate five weekly flights with return fares of $348 in January, according to the company website.

The company is already operating three daily flights to Larnaca in Cyprus for $118 return and two daily flights to Eilat for NIS 380 return.

Air Haifa is currently operating all its flights from Ben Gurion airport but from December 22, Air Haifa will commence operating flights from its home base at Haifa airport. This was the original plan when the company began operations in September but due to the closure of Israeli airspace in the north, Air Haifa was forced to switch operations to Ben Gurion airport.

The company said, "Passengers flying from the airport are asked to plan coming to the terminal up to 75 minutes before the flight's scheduled departure. In addition, biometric checks for passengers have been recently installed for international flights. A duty free store is expected to open at the airport in several months.

Among Air Haifa’s founders are Palo Alto Networks founder Nir Zuk, Strauss Group CEO Shai Babad, former El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin, who is CEO of the new airline, former El Al chief commercial officer Michael Strassburger, and former ZIM CEO Rafi Danieli.

Aviation industry sources have expressed great skepticism about the ability of an airline to operate successfully from Haifa Airport. In the past, international companies have operated flights from the northern airport such as TUS Airways, but after a short period of operating out of Haifa, the airline returned its planes to Ben Gurion airport. Israeli airlines that currently operate domestic flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Ramon also have difficulty operating there, due to the length of the runway, which limits the operation of large aircraft. The runway cannot be extended today, because it borders the refineries, the sea, and the new Chinese-owned port.

Another difficulty is transport accessibility. The Mayor of Haifa announced that "in order to make Haifa Airport accessible to passengers, starting December 22, a new Egged bus line 100 will be operated for the first time. The line will connect the central station in the Bay, which is the transportation hub of an integrated transportation system, the only one of its kind in Israel, directly to the entrance to the terminal at Haifa Airport. The new line will operate every 30 minutes and will allow convenient, accessibility for passengers arriving at the station via Israel Railways, bus, metro or the cable car."

The airline added: "Ahead of the commencement of operations from Haifa, and to ensure a fast and comfortable experience, infrastructure work is being completed at Haifa Airport with an investment of tens of millions of shekels by the Israel Airports Authority and the Ministry of Transport. As part of this, a comprehensive renovation of the runway has been carried out, operating systems have been upgraded, and additional parking spaces have been provided near the terminal."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 9, 2024