Virgin Atlantic launches new route from Heathrow to Tel Aviv

“I’m also thrilled to introduce this new destination to our leisure customers and I know it’s somewhere they’ll love to visit.”

El Al, Israel’s national airline, currently flies from both Heathrow and Luton – with the latter also serving as a hub for short-haul budget airlines Wizz Air and EasyJet.

Arkia, a budget Israeli carrier, flies between Stansted and Tel Aviv.

The new service is partly aimed at connecting passengers to US airports served by Virgin Atlantic and the carrier which owns 49 per cent of it, Delta Airlines.

Israel’s tourism minister, Yariv Levin, said: “The entry of one of the world’s leading airlines into Israel is another expression of confidence in the Israel tourism product.

“The revolution that we have implemented in the Ministry of Tourism in recent years is bearing fruit with record-breaking numbers of incoming tourism to Israel.

“The new flights will be integrated with the marketing campaign in Europe, which highlights Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I am convinced that, with the entry of Virgin Atlantic into Israel, we will see continued growth in incoming tourism from the UK.”

Virgin Atlantic tickets will go on sale from February 25.