For the first time since the closure of Israel’s airspace, rescue flights by Israeli airlines will take off tomorrow (Wednesday) from several European cities to Israel, as long as there is no further change in the security situation. An estimated 150,000 Israelis are currently stranded abroad, waiting for flights back to Israel.
The airlines stress that the flights are only operating one way – to Israel. All flights abroad from Israel are still suspended in accordance with state guidelines.
El Al, Air Haifa, Arkia and Israir have officially announced the destinations from which rescue flights will be operated. El Al will operate rescue flights from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, and Paris. All passengers for these flights have already been assigned in advance, according to the date of their original flight cancellation or for humanitarian reasons, and the company reports that the flights are full.
Air Haifa will begin operating rescue flights on the Larnaca-Haifa route. In the first stage, the seats on these flights will be allocated to the company’s customers who are already waiting to be brought home, and only later will the sale of tickets be open to the general public. The company is expected to operate about nine daily flights on this route, and the full schedule will be published soon.
Arkia will also begin operating rescue flights from destinations near Israel tomorrow (Wednesday) – Karpathos in Greece, Larnaca and Tivat in Montenegro. The flights are for organized groups of the company’s customers whose flights had been canceled, and these are already full. Ticket sales for subsequent flights will open daily on the company’s website, for flights the following day.
Israir announced that it is preparing to operate three rescue flights tomorrow from Larnaca, Athens and Varna. The company also stated, “Passengers on these flights have been assigned and are full, the passengers have been informed about them.”
Bank Leumi’s rescue ship
In addition to the flights, Bank Leumi announced that it has chartered a passenger ship to bring Israelis back home. The ship, owned by Mano Shipping” will set sail from Limassol in Cyprus on Monday, June 23, 2025, and will be able to bring back about 1,500 passengers to Israel.
Bank Leumi said registration for the cruise will be open to all Israelis at a subsidized fee. For LeumiCard customers, the cruise will cost €300, and for those who are not bank customers, the cruise will cost €600. The cost to the bank is about €1,230 per passenger. Israelis who are abroad and are interested in registering will be able to do so from tomorrow at 4 pm on the bank’s website.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 17, 2025.
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