Israel's skies are reopening: Lufthansa returning to Israel

Lufthansa group, the largest air travel company in the world, which includes subsidiaries such as Eurowings and Swiss Airlines, will be returning to service Israel starting February 1, according to Globes.

Israelis will now be able to fly daily to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, and Vienna, and fly weekly to Brussels and Dusseldorf.

Lufthansa had suspended service in Israel following the ground operation against Hezbollah in September, during which Hezbollah fired dozens of ballistic missiles of all ranges, some of which were capable of reaching Ben Gurion airport and endangering planes flying in and out of Israel.

Lufthansa was among the first to return to service Israel following a temporary suspension of all foreign flights in and out of the country following October 7 and the beginning of the war, which included thousands of rocket attacks towards the center of the country, which could potentially endanger aircraft.

As the largest air travel group in the world, Lufthansa is considered a trend setter, and many hope that its quick return will signal to other foreign airlines that it is safe to return to Israel at full capacity.

Low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizzair are also returning to Israel thanks to the so far successful implementation of the ceasefire in the north, with plans to return to full capacity by the summer, according to Globes.

Ryanair had spoken to Reuters saying that they intend to return to full capacity in servicing Israel by the summer, and Globes reports that tickets can already start to be booked from April 1 onwards.

The Hungarian airline Wizzair, which had previously only renewed its servicing of the Israel-Cyprus route, is reportedly set to expand its destinations from Israel to another 14, thus returning to something like the service it provided before the war started.

Nevertheless, Israelis are still far from having the options they did before the war in terms of competition, prices, and destinations. This is especially true when it comes to American airlines, who are still cagey - even with the announcement of a hostage deal - about returning to service the war-torn country and who do not want to go back to a start-stop approach based on escalations.