Passover in limbo: Israel flight chaos may spill into summer
Air traffic in Israel remains heavily disrupted, with canceled flights, strict restrictions, and thousands of travelers still stranded
With Passover approaching, normal air traffic to and from Israel remains far from resuming, raising growing concern across the travel industry over the holiday period, and potentially the entire summer season.
Israel's aviation landscape remains highly unstable, with continued cancellations and tight operational limits tied to the ongoing security situation.
Several international carriers have extended suspension of services. Wizz Air has cancelled flights until April 20, while Air France has paused its Tel Aviv–Paris route at least through April 19. Israeli airlines are also not expected to return to full schedules in the near term.
According to a senior official in the Ministry of Transport, full normalization at Ben Gurion Airport will only be possible once the security threat significantly decreases—citing a scenario in which Iranian missile fire drops to roughly one or two launches per week toward central Israel. Officials say that threshold is still far from being met.
In the meantime, strict operational restrictions remain in place, including limited passenger capacity to around 50 people, reduced hourly departures, and a focus on humanitarian and repatriation flights. Priority continues to be given to bringing back Israelis stranded abroad, some for more than a month.
For those attempting to leave Israel, options are limited and increasingly costly. Many travelers are rerouting through Jordan or Egypt via Aqaba or Taba airports, but face ongoing disruptions, last-minute cancellations, strained infrastructure, and rising expenses. Crossing fees alone have climbed to around $120, excluding transport and airfare.
With uncertainty persisting, officials warn that if conditions do not improve soon, the disruption could extend well beyond Passover and significantly impact the critical summer travel season.