Cyprus Airways has resumed its flagship route between Larnaca (LCA) and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), operating one daily rotation with Airbus A320 aircraft after a three-month security pause linked to heightened regional tensions. The announcement, confirmed on 26 April, follows consultations with Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority and a joint risk assessment that cleared the airline to return. The reinstated link is a relief for business travellers and mobility managers alike. Before the suspension, the 40-minute hop carried more than 220,000 passengers a year—second only to London Heathrow among Cyprus Airways’ routes—and was heavily used by tech start-ups with dual operations in Nicosia and Tel Aviv. Tour operators forecast that the daily flight could restore up to €15 million in lost tourist spend if load factors return to 2025 levels by July. The carrier has introduced several mitigations: dynamic rerouting to avoid certain segments of Israeli airspace, a reinforced cockpit-door protocol, and the option for passengers to re-book onto evening departures should daytime security alerts escalate. Connections at Larnaca have been retimed to allow same-day onward travel to Athens, Beirut and Dubai, limiting knock-on disruption to expatriate itineraries. Travel-risk consultants, while welcoming the move, advise corporate clients to maintain a 48-hour buffer on high-priority trips and to monitor potential spill-overs from the Iran conflict. Mobility teams should also remind travellers that biometric Exit-Entry System (EES) checks at Larnaca can add 15–20 minutes to outbound processing during peak hours. Cyprus Airways said it will review the frequency in mid-May and could ramp up to twice-daily flights if demand and the security situation permit. Rival carrier TUS Airways is reportedly eyeing a code-share, while low-cost challenger Wizz Air has hinted at a seasonal TLV service from Paphos.
Source: Cyprus Mail
