On behalf of Ryanair, Malta Air was on its way from Vienna to Tel Aviv on Monday, October 9, 2023 under flight number FR7161. The approach to Israel's largest airport was canceled for safety reasons. The captain decided to make an alternative landing at Paphos Airport (Cyprus).

In a direct comparison with its competitors Wizz Air and Austrian Airlines, Ryanair maintained flights between Vienna and Tel Aviv for longer. They actually wanted to fly on Monday, but the approach to Tel Aviv in Israeli airspace was canceled and an alternative landing was made in Paphos.

The Boeing 737-800, registered as 9H-QAG, touched down safely at the Cypriot airport. The background to the captain's decision is that there were explicit warnings about the danger of terrorist rocket fire in the area around Tel Aviv Airport. For this reason, operations at Israel's largest airport have repeatedly been temporarily suspended in recent days.

At Ryanair, the matter surrounding flight FR7161 may have led to a quick rethink. In contrast to many competitors, Israel flight operations were previously maintained. That changed suddenly on Monday, as the Irish low-cost airline canceled all Israel flights for the next few days without replacement. For security reasons, mind you.

The passengers on Ryanair flight FR7161 returned to Vienna after a stop in Paphos, which was also used to refuel, among other things. The 9H-QAG was then used as planned on the Burgas circuit and other flights.

After Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair have discontinued flight connections between Vienna and Tel Aviv, only El Al remains, which would like to continue to operate this route. Many of the airline's aircraft from Israel are equipped with missile defense systems. The machines of competitors from Europe do not have such technology. Since there are currently no flights between Austria and Eilat, these were not mentioned.