Ryanair says it may not return to Israel, urges Jerusalem to ‘get its act together’

The airline earlier this summer said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest.

Ryanair may not return to Israel when violence related to the Gaza war recedes, Group Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said on Thursday, saying the airline was being “messed around” by airport authorities there.

“I think there is a real possibility that we won’t bother going back to Israel… when the current violence recedes,” O’Leary told journalists in Dublin.

“We are tired of being messed around by the Israel Airports Authority. Unless the Israelis kind of get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe.”

The airline earlier this summer said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest.

Ryanair ‘losing patience’ with Israel

In May, O’Leary told journalists that he was “losing patience” with Israel due to continued interruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport.

“I think we’re running out of patience too with Israel … flights to and from Tel Aviv,” O’Leary told analysts following the release of full-year results.

“If they’re going to keep being disrupted by these security disruptions, frankly, we’d be better off sending those aircraft somewhere else in Europe,” he said.

This is a developing story.