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airHaifa

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airHaifa
אייר חיפה
طيران حيفا
IATA ICAO Call sign
E2 HFA[1] AIR HAIFA[1]
Founded2023
Operating basesHaifa Airport[2]
HubsHaifa Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations2
HeadquartersHaifa, Israel
Key people
  • Shai Babad, co-founder
  • Rafi Danieli, co-founder
  • Uri Sciaky, COO
  • Michael Strassburger, co-founder & EVP commercial
  • Gonen Ussishkin, co-founder & CEO
  • Lior Yavor, co-founder & EVP operations
  • Nir Zuk, co-founder[3][2]
Websiteairhaifa.com

airHaifa (Hebrew: אייר חיפה, Arabic: طيران حيفا) is a low cost Israeli airline operating flights to Eilat and Cyprus. Its current hub is Ben-Gurion Airport yet is planned for Haifa, Israel. Hence the name.

History

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airHaifa, the first new Israeli airline since the 1990s,[4] was founded by Nir Zuk, the founder of Palo Alto Networks and Shai Babad, the former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Finance and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Strauss Group. Among other founders are former El Al chief commercial officer Michael Strassburger, former ZIM CEO, Rafi Danieli,[3] former vice president of operations for El Al, Lior Yavor, former CEO of El Al, Gonen Osishkin.[5]

The company was officially registered on 20 March 2023.[6]

The airline states that it is the first commercial airline to be established at Haifa Airport.[2]

Destinations

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airHaifa has launched operations on 30 September 2024,[7] initially operating flights from Tel Aviv to Eilat until 11 October 2024, eventually launching flights from Haifa to Eilat and Larnaca, on 13 October and 14 October 2024, respectively. Future plans include routes to Greece and Turkey.[8]

Ticket sales on the airline's website began on 25 September 2024.

Country City Airport Notes Refs
 Cyprus Larnaca Larnaca International Airport [7][9]
 Greece Athens Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos Begins 2 January 2025 [10]
 Israel Eilat Ramon Airport Resumes 22 December 2024 [7][9]
Haifa Haifa Airport Begins 22 December 2024 [7][9]
Tel Aviv David Ben Gurion International Airport Ends 21 December 2024 [7]

Fleet

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airHaifa operates a fleet of 600 series of the ATR made ATR 72, each able to accommodate 72 passengers.[11]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
ATR 72-600 1[4] 2[4] 72 First aircraft was delivered on 28 July 2024
Two more to be received by September 2024.
These aircraft are new.[12]
1 — 70 Ex Garuda Indonesia[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Aviation Codes Website - Airline Codes Full Details". www.avcodes.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "airHaifa: it's easy to just fly". airHaifa. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b Livne, Stav (4 April 2024). "Will airHaifa be stillborn?". Globes. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Weiss, Vered (10 July 2024). "New Israeli Airline 'airHaifa' Set to Receive First Plane in July". Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. ^ Kopel-Wanderman, Nirit (19 July 2023). "Low cost from Haifa airport? • The company 'airHaifa' was launched". Hai Fa - The News Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  6. ^ פרץ זילברמן, ספיר (18 July 2023). "חברת התעופה הישראלית ״אייר חיפה״ של ניר צוק יוצאת לדרך". פספורטניוז (in Hebrew). Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Air Haifa to begin flying from Monday". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  8. ^ "'airHaifa': New airline set to launch out of northern Israel". The Times of Israel. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Zahavi, Mia (17 May 2024). "Another step towards the return of international flights to the airport in Haifa". Hai Fa - The News Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  10. ^ אזולאי, איתי (8 December 2024). "עם טיסות ישירות לאתונה: אייר חיפה מתחילה לטוס מחיפה". פספורטניוז (in Hebrew). PassportNews. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  11. ^ Sipinski, Dominik (28 September 2023). "Israel's airHaifa to launch with ATR72-600s". CH Aviation. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. ^ "airHaifa to receive first aircraft this month". Globes. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  13. ^ "4X-IHB airHaifa ATR 72-600 (72-212A)". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
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