New Israeli airline AirHaifa took off on its maiden commercial flight from Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday amid security limitations on northern Israel amid escalations against Hezbollah. The fully booked flight took off from Tel Aviv to Eilat’s Ramon Airport in line with wartime guidelines.
The airline, which recently received its operational license from the Transport Ministry, is now operating two daily flights from Ben Gurion Airport to Eilat with an introductory price of 99 shekels ($26) per direction, excluding carry-on luggage. This operation is expected to continue until the eve of Yom Kippur, on October 11.
Immediately after Yom Kippur, subject to security conditions and approval from relevant authorities, Air Haifa will begin its operations from Haifa International Airport. The first flight from Haifa to Eilat is scheduled for Sunday, October 13, while the first flight from Haifa to Cyprus is planned for Monday, October 14.
Starting prices for flights from Haifa are 139 shekels (about $36) per direction to Eilat and $64 per direction to Cyprus. These prices don’t include carry-on luggage.
For flights to Eilat, an additional carry-on will cost 30 shekels (about $8) per direction and checked luggage will cost 60 shekels (about $15) per direction. For flights to Cyprus, carry-on luggage will cost $15 per direction, and checked luggage will cost $30 per direction.
The inaugural flight was carried out on an ATR 72-600 aircraft with 72 seats. The aircraft is a new model from the French-Italian manufacturer ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and the Leonardo Group. Previous models of this aircraft have been operated in Israel before, but this is the first time that the latest model is being operated by an Israeli airline.
Haifa Airport only has a short runway, 1,326 meters (4,350 feet) long, which forces Air Haifa to operate only small planes that can accommodate about 70 passengers.