Skift Take
The numbers demonstrate how well travel has actually recovered post-pandemic in some parts of the world.
Justin Dawes
Flight to and from Israel plunged in the last three months of 2023 amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the number of passengers taking a trip through Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv still increased 10% in 2023.
The number of global travelers reached 21.1 million in 2023, up from 19.2 million in 2022, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said in a report on Sunday.
Over the very first 9 months of the year, before the Oct. 7 attacks by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, guest traffic rose by an annual 38.5%, to 19.1 million.
But since then, traffic has plunged, culminating in a 78% drop in November and 71% dive in December, the IAA stated.
With almost all foreign carriers having halted flights to and from Israel as an outcome of heavy rocket attacks from Gaza and the war, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines benefited, with the number of passengers rising 32.5% to 5.5 million in 2023 for a 26.3% market share at Ben Gurion.
Wizz Air was the second-largest airline in 2015 with a more than 9% share; traveler traffic was up 35.5% despite the business halting flights in the 4th quarter. Ryanair was 3rd with a 5.4% share, although its variety of travelers dipped 12% in 2023.
“Ben Gurion remains personnel while keeping and observing the safety and security of the airplanes and passengers,” said Udi Bar Oz, handling director of Ben Gurion.
In December, almost 80% of travelers flew El Al, followed by smaller Israeli provider Israir at 10% and FlyDubai at 3.2%. Throughout the month, just 7 foreign carriers flew to Israel.
Bar Oz noted that at 17%, the United States– mainly via New york city’s JFK airport– was the nation with the greatest volume of activity in December, followed by France and Britain.
Airline companies such as Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Aegean have resumed flights to Tel Aviv. Air France and Ryanair are slated to reboot this week and next week.
In 2023, 3 million tourists visited Israel, up from 2.7 million in 2022.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; modifying by Bernadette Baum)
This short article was composed by Steven Scheer from Reuters and was legally certified through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected]