Virgin Atlantic Cancels Tel Aviv Return As Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Relinquish Slots

Virgin Atlantic has canceled plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv this fall, while Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines are also stepping back from the Israeli market amid ongoing regional instability.

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Virgin Atlantic had planned to resume daily service to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) from Oct. 26, using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. However, the airline has confirmed it will no longer return to the market with its own operations and will instead maintain a presence through a codeshare partnership with El Al Israel Airlines.

“After careful consideration we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our services between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv,” a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic says. “We will continue to serve Tel Aviv as the only UK airline to have a partnership with El Al, Israel’s national carrier, on services between Tel Aviv Ben Gurion and London Heathrow.”

Under the codeshare partnership, passengers will be able to travel on up to four daily El Al flights between Tel Aviv and London Heathrow and connect onward to U.S. destinations including Las Vegas, Miami, New York and Atlanta. The arrangement also offers reciprocal benefits for frequent flyers in Virgin’s Flying Club and El Al’s Matmid program.

Virgin Atlantic launched its Tel Aviv service in September 2019, operating daily flights with Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Service was paused in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed six months later. Flights continued until October 2023, when operations were suspended following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. During the summer 2023 season, frequencies had increased to two daily flights.

Confirmation of Virgin Atlantic’s exit leaves four carriers offering nonstop service between the UK and Israel. Alongside El Al’s operations, British Airways flies twice daily between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv, while Israir and Wizz Air each serve London Luton–Tel Aviv, operating 8X-weekly and daily, respectively. OAG data shows that London-Tel Aviv capacity currently totals about 22,900 two-way seats, compared with 34,100 at this time two years ago.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus have reportedly relinquished their takeoff and landing slots at TLV after suspending operations in October 2023. Prior to the outbreak of war, Turkish Airlines offered three routes to Tel Aviv, flying 10X-daily from Istanbul Airport, up to 3X-daily from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport and 2X-daily from Antalya.

Pegasus also maintained a significant presence, serving Tel Aviv from six cities—Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, Izmir, and Trabzon—with a combined total of 72 roundtrip flights per week. Additionally, the Türkiye–Tel Aviv market was served by Corendon Airlines, El Al, Israir, Southwind Airlines, and SunExpress. Together with Turkish Airlines and Pegasus, these carriers provided approximately 84,000 two-way weekly seats.

However, there are currently no scheduled air services between Türkiye and Israel. This follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its ongoing military operations in Gaza.

OAG data shows there are currently almost 255,000 scheduled weekly departure seats available from TLV, a 16.3% decrease compared to this time in 2023 before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israeli carriers El Al, Israir, and Arkia now account for 48.4% of all departure seats, up from 28.4% two years ago.

Turkish Airlines and Pegasus have been approached for comment.