Filenews 14 October 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
The air link between Cyprus and Israel is maintained, but only with companies of Israeli interests, as, after Cyprus Airways, Tus Airways announced yesterday a temporary suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv.
Both companies, which are Cypriot, cited security reasons for the immediate suspension of their flights to Israel, allegedly related to the government's ground operation in the Gaza Strip and possible retaliation by Hamas.
Yesterday, Cyprus Airways said that "the decision to suspend our Larnaca-Tel Aviv route was not taken lightly. Safety has always been and will always be our highest priority. We stand in solidarity with all those affected and will do everything we can to resume operations when conditions allow."
It is reported that the company will contact passengers who have existing reservations on the Larnaca-Tel Aviv route in the coming days and instead to inform them about their options.
TUS Airways also announced yesterday its decision to suspend all flights to and from Tel Aviv, effective Saturday 14 October. This decision affects flights between Tel Aviv and Larnaca, Paphos, Athens, Heraklion.
The company said that from last Saturday, October 7, until yesterday, Friday, October 13, it operated all its scheduled flights to the aforementioned airports and added more than 25 flights to and from Tel Aviv to support its customers and help them reach their destination.
"Our top priority remains the connection of Cyprus with Tel Aviv and our goal is to resume our flights as soon as this is safe and feasible. TUS Airways will continue to review the situation on a daily basis, with the aim of resuming operations as soon as possible," Philip Saunders, Chief Commercial Officer of TUS Airways, said yesterday.
The company assured that it will refund those passengers whose flights have been cancelled as soon as possible, so it urges them not to contact it to avoid inconvenience, informing that it will keep its passengers informed of any further developments.
Predominantly Israeli
In view of the above, the connection between Israel and Cyprus continues with routes of Israeli El Al, Israeli Arkia and Israir. There was also a flight to Larnaca yesterday from Haifa, by Universal Air, which is a Maltese airline, mainly engaged in charter flights.
However, the number of arrivals and departures to and from Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport remains significant, as many Israelis wish to return to their country or leave it, with Cyprus playing a "bridge" in this direction.
It is noted that from Ben Gurion airport, international flights continue to operate, although more sparsely, to various destinations(Turkey, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Belgium, etc.) but almost exclusively by Israeli airlines. Most major airlines have suspended flights from the country for days and very few smaller airlines are still partially operating.
