Bmi axes flights on Heathrow to Tel Aviv route

Bmi will be cutting two flights per week from its twice-daily service between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv, Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports.

From November onwards, the route will only be operated once on Friday and Saturday, with bmi blaming the reduction on falling demand and stiff competition.

Low-cost rival easyJet announced earlier in the summer that it plans to operate a five-times weekly service between London Luton and the Israeli city.

EasyJet's new service is due to take to the skies on November 2, with one-way fares starting from as little as £71.98, including taxes and charges.

As well as posing a direct challenge to bmi's service, which doubled in frequency in May, the low-cost carrier will also go head-to-head with El Al and British Airways.

Bmi's drawdown comes at a difficult time for the airline, which is currently at the centre of negotiations over its sale by majority stakeholder Lufthansa.

In addition to scaling back the Tel Aviv link, the airline also plans to cut the frequency of its Heathrow to Belfast service from eight to seven flights per day.

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