EasyJet to begin direct Tel Aviv-Berlin flights in February

Discount airline to operate 3 weekly flights between B-G Airport, Berlin's Schoenefeld airport starting February 4, 2014.

By NIV ELIS
easyJet aircraft 370 (photo credit: Courtesy)
easyJet aircraft 370
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Discount airline easyJet on Thursday announced that it would begin operating three weekly direct flights between Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport and Berlin’s Schoenefeld Airport starting February 4, 2014.
The flights, which will start at €43.99 (NIS 210) for outbound and €42.49 (NIS 203) inbound, are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Berlin will be the company’s sixth-operating route to Tel Aviv, after London Luton, Manchester, Geneva, Basel and Rome.
In April, the government approved an Open Skies Agreement to align Israeli flight rules with EU standards and bring about competition, a move that promised to benefit low-cost carriers.
In response, the Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia and Israir led a strike alongside the Histadrut labor federation, shutting down air travel for two days.
“We said that we’d like to expand our operation in Israel when the Open Sky agreement comes into force and with the Berlin-Tel Aviv route, we reaffirm our commitment to the market,” said Hugh Aitken, easyJet’s UK Commercial Manager. “This brings us to be the second largest foreign airline operating flights to and from Tel Aviv, which is something we’re very proud of.”
The Open Skies Agreement is to go into effect in 2014.