Lufthansa plans to resume Tel Aviv flights ahead of UK carriers in January despite the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
The German carrier has scheduled four flights a week from Frankfurt and three a week from Munich from January 8.
Sister carrier Austrian Airlines plans eight weekly connections and Swiss five flights a week.
This will give Lufthansa Group airlines 20 weekly connections to and from Tel Aviv using Airbus A320 aircraft, or 30% of the regular flight schedule which was suspended two days after the Hamas attack into Israel on October 7.
Current plans show that British Airways will not return service to Tel Aviv from Heathrow until January 10, while the suspension of Virgin Atlantic flights has been further extended until March 16.
EasyJet continues to say its flying programme to Tel Aviv is being reviewed on a regular basis while Ryanair flights from parts of Europe remain cancelled until January 31. However, Ryanair plans to restart services to Aqaba on January 8.
El Al flights to London have been maintained throughout the conflict.
Lufthansa, which is opening bookings for Tel Aviv flights today (Monday), said: “Safety is always a top priority for the airlines in the Lufthansa Group.
“The Lufthansa Group continues to monitor the security situation in Israel closely and is in close contact with the local and international authorities.
“Possible flight schedule adjustments must be expected due to changing conditions.”