Israel
New Israeli airline eyes September launch for Haifa flights
The low-cost carrier will offer domestic and international short-haul flights to Mediterranean and Red Sea locations
July 19, 2024 09:50
By, Jewish News Syndicate
1 min read
The low-cost carrier will offer domestic and international short-haul flights to Mediterranean and Red Sea locations
July 19, 2024 09:50ByEtgar Lefkovits, Jewish News Syndicate
Israel’s first new airline in three decades is preparing to take off this fall from the city of Haifa, providing residents of the north of the country additional travel opportunities.
The new low-cost airline, Air Haifa, will begin operations from the northern port city where it will be based as early as September.
Billed as “Israel’s startup airline,” the carrier will offer domestic and international short-haul flights to Mediterranean and Red Sea locations, starting with Eilat, and then likely to Cyprus and Greece.
“We’re committed to providing economic growth and connectivity to the greater Haifa area and Israel’s northern region now more than ever,” the airline’s web site states.
The airline was founded last year by a team of entrepreneurial Israeli aviation professionals, led by the American-Israeli founder of cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks, Nir Zuk, together with former senior executives of the Jewish state's flagship carrier, El Al Israel Airlines.
Air Haifa is awaiting final accreditation from Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority—which is expected in the near future—before it announces its official launch date and begins selling tickets to confirmed destinations.
The small Haifa airport, which is located at the eastern entrance to the city, was established by the British in 1934. It was the first international airport in Israel before the construction of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv that same year.
With a runway only 4,324 feet long, limiting plane size and range of destinations, the Haifa airport has had very minimal service.
The new Haifa-based airline will operate three ATR 72-600 turboprops, the first of which is expected to arrive at the end of the month.
“Instead of a long drive to the [Ben-Gurion] airport and arriving three hours before the flight to wait on lines and at the gate, our passengers will enjoy the convenience of flying internationally from their local airport and getting from their doorstep to onboard the airplane in less than 90 minutes,” Air Haifa said on its website.
“Competition is good, and one day northerners will be able to take advantage of flying out of Haifa instead of Ben-Gurion Airport,” Mark Feldman, Jerusalem director at Diesenhaus Tours, told JNS on Monday. “I applaud the initiative and look forward to the day when they can add flights to nearby places, rather than flying down to Eilat.”