Israel welcomes early return of Wizz Air UK flights 

Wizz Air plans to resume flights between the UK and Israel four weeks ahead of a previously announced schedule.

The August restart was welcomed by Israel’s tourism ministry as “an important development for the latest reset of UK and Israel travel”.

Flights will resume from Luton on August 22, with services on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

The budget airline’s move follows the recent lifting of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice “against all travel or all but essential travel” put in place after recent hostilities.

The relaxation of the travel advice allows normalised travel arrangements to all major Israel visitor and tourism locations, according to the Israel tourism organisation.

The Israel Airports Authority announced two weeks ago that Ben Gurion and Haifa airports have returned to full operational capacity following the Israeli government’s decision to lift security restrictions.

Wizz Air’s return to a Tel Aviv programme will begin on August 8 with flights from Budapest and Larnaca, with Luton flights resuming two weeks later.

Israel tourism ministry UK director Michael Ben Baruch said: “I’m extremely pleased to see this positive news so quickly after the reopening of Israel’s airports and airspace. 

“In under two weeks we have seen the change in FCDO advice laying the way for the immediate return to normal travel between our countries.

“With Wizz Air bringing forward their return to Israel, those visitors from the UK eager to return to Israel quickly will have more options and opportunities to travel. We can promise those that do travel the warmest of welcomes and the best of experiences.”