Ryanair inaugurates flights from Ben-Gurion Airport

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair inaugurated its flights from Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday with a flight to Paphos in Cyprus. A Ryanair jet landed at Ben-Gurion, followed by the first takeoff an hour later.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, has a fleet of 350 planes, most of which are Boeing 737s with 190 seats each. The airline has 86 bases and flies to 200 destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Ryanair recently announced the introduction of 19 routes from Tel Aviv, some from Ben-Gurion and some from Uvda Airport near Eilat. Most of the routes, which will begin after the High Holy Days, will be to destinations in Italy, Germany and Poland, among other places.

Ryanair began its business in Israel last year with five routes from Uvda but avoided using Ben-Gurion because of the high airport fees. The trigger for its new Ben-Gurion routes was a €250,000 grant from Israel for each new route for which there were no direct flights from Israel.

As is usually the case with low-cost airlines, the price of a flight depends on the day on which it is scheduled. For example, during the intermediate days of Passover in April, a one-way flight on April 8 is likely to cost €110, while there is also a one-way flight for €54 on April 12, for example.

As promised, there are one-way flights after the holiday for €20 on April 17, for example. The price for return flights ranges from €250 from Paphos to Tel Aviv on April 15 and April 17 to €40-€50 later and €20 for a return flight on April 28, for example.

The cost of luggage, which is not included in the fare, can amount to €75 on a round-trip flight for a suitcase of up to 20 kilograms. The addition includes a choice of seat and early check-in.