Ireland's Ryanair might not return to Israel even after its war in Gaza subsides, group chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Thursday.
The low-cost carrier is being “messed around” by Israeli airport authorities, Mr O'Leary told reporters in Dublin after Ryanair's annual general meeting, Reuters reported.
In June, Ryanair said it would not resume operations to Ben Gurion International Airport, in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, before October 25.
“I think there is a real possibility that we won't bother going back to Israel … when the current violence” recedes, Mr O'Leary said on Thursday.
Ryanair, in particular, is frustrated with Ben Gurion's policy of charging the airline a higher rate for use of the airport's main terminal amid the closure of the cheaper terminal for security reasons, Mr O'Leary said.
“Unless the Israelis kind of get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe,” he was quoted as saying.
A representative from Ryanair did not provide an additional statement when asked for comment by The National.
Ryanair has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel's multi-pronged aggression in the Middle East, which has disrupted air travel and, at one point in June, forced the closure of airspace in some countries after the state attacked Iran.
When Ryanair said in May that it was cancelling its services to Tel Aviv until July 31, Mr O'Leary was quoted as saying that he was “losing patience” with the security situation at Ben Gurion.
On a broader scale, the conflicts in the Middle East have also heightened safety fears among airline pilots, especially from Europe, given its proximity to Israel and conflict zones.
