Following understandings reached between Wizz Air and the Israeli authorities about the establishment of two bases in Israel (at Ben-Gurion Airport and Ramon Airport near Eilat), Globes can reveal that the Hungarian low-cost airline plans to operate Eilat-Budapest flights from March.
The company will establish its bases in Israel in March, which will initially include one aircraft with a crew of foreign pilots to be based in Israel, with the rest of the crew hired in Israel. The base is planned to gradually grow, and the airline is targeting 60 flights a day.
As part of the negotiations with the Transport Ministry, it was also agreed to open two routes from Ramon, the first of which, will be to Budapest. As part of operations in Ramon, Wizz Air has committed to operating two daily international routes, with its air crews spending the night in the area as part of operating the base. It was agreed that Wizz Air will operate domestic flights between Ben-Gurion Airport and Ramon.
As part of the base that the company will establish at Ben-Gurion Airport, it plans to add two additional aircraft during the summer months and, as part of the talks with the Transport Ministry, has requested valuable slots during peak hours to compete head-to-head with Israeli airlines.
Regev instructs CAA D-G to convene hearing for opposition to Wizz proposal
Transportation Minister Miri Regev has instructed the director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority to convene a 30-day hearing to hear the arguments of the Israeli companies that have expressed opposition to the establishment of a Wizz Air base in Israel.
During discussions, Wizz Air also requested permission to fly from Israel to countries outside the EU where the company is registered, such as the Balkans and the UAE. Currently, this request, which is particularly unusual, has been dropped, paving the way for significant progress in recent days.