Blue Bird Airways will expand its Tel Aviv-Amsterdam service to four weekly flights beginning August 10, as airlines add capacity during one of the busiest periods of the Israeli travel season.
The Greek carrier will operate the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. One-way fares will begin at €164, according to the company.
The additional flight comes as Ben-Gurion Airport prepares for heavy traffic throughout August. Some 2.6 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport during the month, with daily traffic projected to reach between 90,000 and 95,000 passengers on most weekdays. Five dates in August are expected to see approximately 100,000 travelers.
“We are seeing a steady increase in demand for flights to Amsterdam from both leisure and business travelers,” said Arnon Englender, one of Blue Bird Airways’ owners.
“Adding a fourth weekly flight allows us to better meet this growing demand while offering our customers greater flexibility and more convenient travel options,” he said.
The flight from Israel to Amsterdam takes approximately five and a half hours, according to Blue Bird. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is connected to the city center by trains and buses, with the journey generally taking about 20 minutes.
Amsterdam expansion part of broad increase Blue Bird operations
The Amsterdam expansion is part of a broader increase in Blue Bird’s operations from Israel. In May, the airline announced three additional summer routes from Tel Aviv to Burgas in Bulgaria, Chania in Crete, and the Greek island of Kos.
Blue Bird is owned by the Israeli tourism group Kavei Hufsha, or Holiday Lines, which acquired the Greek airline in 2016. The group, owned by Englender and Ami Cohen, also owns Cypriot carrier TUS Airways and the Israeli tourism websites Daka 90 and Blik Tourism.
The airline has increased its presence at Ben-Gurion Airport during the prolonged instability affecting Israel’s aviation market. Blue Bird and TUS continued operating for much of the period in which numerous international airlines suspended their Israel services.
Blue Bird was also among the first foreign airlines to return after commercial aviation was sharply curtailed following the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war on February 28. It resumed Tel Aviv-Athens flights in April, initially operating daily service in each direction.
The fourth Amsterdam flight gives Israeli travelers another option on a major European route as demand for summer travel continues to recover and foreign-airline activity at Ben-Gurion Airport gradually expands.