As ongoing war keeps foreign airlines away, Israelis look to local start-up for flights

The more than 100 carriers that fly to Israel in peacetime have been winnowed down to fewer than a dozen, giving Israeli airlines a 78 per cent share of the local market in October, says Air Haifa co-founder Michael Strassburger

(Bloomberg) — It is named after a city that’s off-limits to civilian aviation due to incoming rockets and drones. Its fleet is just two propeller planes. And you won’t find it on Google Flights.

But Air Haifa, among the few Israeli startups emerging during a year-old regional war that’s far from won, still has high hopes.

A cascade of foreign carriers has shunned Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main international gateway, meaning many in the country must turn to a handful of local alternatives to make the first leg of an overseas journey. Tickets are scarce and prices have skyrocketed.