Several airlines to reinstate flights to Israel in coming weeks

Greek airline Blue Bird, which is expected to resume flights on Sunday, will be the first foreign airline to return to Israel since the skies were closed following the start of Operation Roaring Lion.

Several airlines announced Friday plans to reinstate flights to Israel in the coming weeks, with Greek carrier Blue Bird expected to resume service between Athens and Tel Aviv as early as Sunday, according to a KAN report.

With plans for one daily flight in each direction, Blue Bird will be the first foreign carrier to return to Israel since the skies were closed following the start of Operation Roaring Lion on February 28.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad will begin serving Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, according to KAN, with low-cost carrier Wizz Air planning to resume services to Ben Gurion on April 25.

According to the report, Etihad will operate two daily flights in each direction on its Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv route, while Wizz Air will initially only offer flights on its Budapest-Tel Aviv route.

Additionally, according to a Reuters report, Czech airline Smartwings will resume regular flights to Tel Aviv from April 15, with plans to operate seven flights per week.

Ben Gurion Airport set to expand operations

The Israel Airports Authority and the Ministry of Transportation announced Wednesday that they are studying plans to expand aviation activity at Ben Gurion following the announcement of a ceasefire with Iran.

Aviation officials nonetheless cautioned that it may take time before activity fully resumes, citing KAN as saying the continued presence of U.S. Air Force personnel and aircraft at the airport is expected to slow the pace of a full return to normal operations.

Initially, authorities would focus on increasing passenger capacity per flight, with narrow-body planes able to accommodate up to 120 passengers and wide-body planes up to 150, with these changes potentially coming into effect next week.

Reuters contributed to this report.