Lufthansa Group and Wizz Air Extend Flight Suspensions to Israel

Foreign airlines continue to reduce their presence in Israel in light of the changing security situation in the Middle East. The Lufthansa Group has announced a further extension of its flight suspensions to and from Tel Aviv. According to the new update, the group's airlines—including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings—will not operate flights to Israel until April 2, 2026.

Simultaneously, the low-cost carrier Wizz Air has published an official update stating that it is suspending all flights to and from Israel until March 29. Wizz Air's suspension of operations includes all its routes from Europe and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), creating heavy pressure on seat supply and the air capacity available to the Israeli market.

Both groups noted that the safety of passengers and crew is their top priority and that they are conducting ongoing situational assessments with the relevant authorities. The Lufthansa Group added that it is offering affected passengers the option of free ticket cancellations or rebooking.

For the logistics industry, the continued absence of Lufthansa and Wizz Air means a significant loss of belly cargo capacity on key trade routes to Europe. This situation exacerbates the existing shortage in air freight volumes, as reflected in recent appeals by the Israeli Federation of Forwarders and Customs Clearing Agents to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) requesting the utilization of reinforcement flights for commercial cargo transport. Importers and exporters are forced to deal with rising rates and unstable delivery times, while the shipping market continues to rely on Israeli carriers and dedicated cargo aircraft.