RyanAir Begins Ben Gurion Flights Tuesday

Travel history is to be made in Israel Tuesday night, as Ben Gurion airport hosts its first departure of a RyanAir flight. The low-cost line’s maiden voyage will be to Paphos, an island near Cyprus – with the fare 22 euros in each direction, or under NIS 200 roundtrip.

March is arguably off-season for flights to the Mediterranean basin country, so fares in the summer are set to rise – to 100 euros roundtrip, the airline said. The fare, however, is for basic transportation; luggage and carry-on bags cost extra, as does any seat selection. The fees can mount up quickly, and flights with the lowest-cost seats through the summer are already booked.

RyanAir expects its new routes to attract some 100,000 Israeli travelers a year, in addition to the tourists it has been bringing from Europe to Eilat until now. RyanAir will run one flight a day in each direction for now, the company said, and expects to begin flying to other European cities in the coming months.

Booking for flights in July and August will open in several days, said a RyanAir spokesperson. “We urge all travelers who are interested in getting tickets at the discounted price to act immediately and buy tickets,” the company spokesperson said. “We expect all of them to be gone in a very short time.”