An exodus of major foreign airlines from routes serving Israel due to the war with Iran has led to sky-high prices and rampant uncertainty for Israelis attempting to book Passover travel or plan for summer trips abroad.

On Tuesday, British low-cost carrier easyJet said it will stay away from Ben-Gurion Airport until the fall, while other carriers have voided the route for the coming weeks. It’s unclear when they will return, if at all.

Local carriers, which are the only airlines reliably flying in and out of Israel into the near future, are taking advantage of the cloudy horizon for air travel by charging customers exorbitant sums. That includes flagship carrier El Al, which has been repeatedly accused of price gouging during wartime since October 7, 2023.

“Every day that we are at war means another foreign carrier is going to delay its return until it’s quiet in the skies over Israel,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours Jerusalem, told The Times of Israel.

Feldman said carriers who have abandoned Ben Gurion Airport would seek to return when they could, but are dealing with the same uncertainty regarding how much longer the war will continue as everyone else.

“Most foreign carriers want to come back and fly to Israel as they don’t want to lose all of their revenue, since they have already booked and sold tickets,” he said.  “But we don’t know if the war is going to last three days or another three weeks.”

Yet even if there were to be a ceasefire with Iran and quiet on the northern front with Hezbollah, many foreign carriers are likely to “step into the water cautiously,” with a return of limited flight services, Feldman cautioned.

Just over two weeks before the beginning of the Passover break, visitors who are already booked to travel to and from Israel are, for now, left in limbo.

“We have many customers booked for Passover, and they are worried and scared about whether they will be able to come,” said Feldman. “They have already bought flights, booked their hotel or Airbnb, and they are aware that if they cancel now, they are going to have to face huge cancellation fees.”

Israel’s airspace has been shut to most commercial traffic since February 28, when........

© The Times of Israel