A fight between Rainier and Tenerife passengers, February 25, 2024/photo: X network
Rainier, the largest Irish lowcost company in Europe, has suspended its flights to Israel because it does not want to "pay" the higher port fees in Terminal 3, this after Terminal 1 was closed to aviation following the war in Gaza.
The airline canceled all flights to and from Israel on October 7 following the Hamas attacks.
It then resumed its operations on February 1 and suspended it again, because it claims that it was forced by Ben Gurion Airport to use Terminal 3, where the fees paid by the airlines are higher than Terminal 1, which it previously used.
Ryanair does not mind using Terminal 3, of course at the price of a fee like Terminal 1, and has also used its services in the past.
But the company asked the airport authority to charge it the lower toll price of Terminal 1, and basically gave an ultimatum to Ben Gurion.
The airport authority refused the request, while Rainier suspended its flights until further notice.
I want them to lower her toll price.
Rainier/AP
"We were deeply disappointed by Ben Gurion's refusal"
"We worked hard with the Israeli government and Ben Gurion Airport to resume low-cost Ryanair flights from/to Tel Aviv last February 1," said Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, to the rte news site in Ireland - a country known for its anti-Israel policy. Especially in the recent period. "We were deeply disappointed by Ben Gurion Airport's refusal to reopen Terminal 1 where Rainier normally operates.
We don't mind if the airport forces us to move the flights to Terminal 3 temporarily due to the large drop in traffic to/from Tel Aviv, but it should be done at the agreed Terminal 1 toll prices, not the higher Terminal 3 toll prices."
Just to explain the The hauzan, the port tax fee that Per Passenger Airline currently pays to the Ben Gurion Airport Authority and Port, is
$26 per passenger in Terminal 3, compared to $11 per passenger in Terminal 1.
Not too significant a difference - $15, which is 54 shekels.
"Reinair is interested in supporting the airport Ben Gurion and the recovery of flights from/to Israel," added Mr. Wilson, "but we cannot do this, or ask our passengers to pay higher airfares while BBG keeps Terminal 1 closed and forces our flights to enter Terminal 3 at high costs, while Charge fees that were never agreed upon by Rainier."
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The Irish lowcost company currently operates only 11 weekly flights between Europe and Israel, not too large a number. And it seems that the airport authority is in no hurry to go towards Rainier and lower its fee to the Terminal 1 rate. The one who determines the amount of fees paid by the airlines is a committee The economy of the Knesset, and in Israel they are considered to be among the lowest in the world.
"There is no vacuum - if they don't fly, others will fly," said an official in the aviation industry told Walla! Tourism. And the reference is to Wizz Air, which, unlike Ryanair, slightly raised the price of the terminal 3 toll gap and embodied it in the price of passengers' tickets. The two companies compete with each other on similar routes, as well as EasyJet, which returns to flying tomorrow (Friday), March 1.
Rainier operated 1,500 flights from Terminal 3 in 2022, the end of the Corona period, because it wanted to compensate for the lack of flights during the two years of The Corona virus. It is important to mention that the passengers are the ones who pay the port taxes, not the airline, but Rainier wants to be seen as a company with cheaper prices and therefore pressures the airport authority to reduce the toll rate and transmit to its customers a cheap and inviting rate.
"For those who fly for hundreds of dollars, it is not A difference of another 15 dollars really makes a difference," says the same source, "but apparently they are flexing their muscles because there is political pressure on them from home, but there is no need to worry - there are those who will fly their passengers" (competitors - Z.R.).
Terminal 1 was closed following the disaster, as written, due to a large reduction in aviation activity to and from Israel.
At the moment there is no justification to open it, what's more, many of the employees of Ben Gurion Airport were drafted into the reserves and are still serving in the various sectors.
"This does not prevent other airlines from returning and flying to Israel," adds the same source in the industry.
"Israel is a profitable line and the world knows it."
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