Arkia (stylized as arkia), legally incorporated as Arkia Israeli Airlines Ltd, is an Israeli airline. Its head office is on the grounds of
Sde Dov Airport in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. It is
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's second-largest airline, operating scheduled domestic and international services, as well as charter flights to destinations in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
and across the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
. Its main base is Ben Gurion Airport, with a hub at the
Ramon Airport
Ramon Airport () , named after Ilan and Assaf Ramon and unofficially also known as Eilat-Ramon Airport, is an international airport located in the Timna Valley in southern Israel. Ramon Airport is the second busiest in Israel (after Ben Gurion ...
.
As of 2020, there are 420 employees employed at Arkia.
[ ]
History

Foundation and early years
Arkia was founded in 1949 as Israel Inland Airlines when it became clear that there was demand for a local airline to connect Tel Aviv with different regions of the then-new state of Israel, especially with Eilat, Israel's important seaport situated on the Gulf of Aqaba.
Flights commenced in 1950 with
De Havilland DH.89 aircraft, followed by
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
s, to inter-connect major towns in Israel from
Rosh Pina
Rosh Pina () is a lay-led Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue that meets in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States.
The independent congregation meets for Shabbat morning services twice a month ...
in the North to the port of Eilat in the South.
El Al
EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. (), trading as EL AL (, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ) is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve ...
held a 50% stake in the airline at this time with the
Histadrut
Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...
, Israel's labour federation, being the other shareholder. The airline later adopted the name Eilata Airlines - Aviron, and Arkia Israel Airlines. In its first year of service, Israel Inland Airlines carried 13,485 passengers, using a
Curtis Commando.
During the 1950s, the airline continued to grow, upgrading its fleet to the larger
DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
, and operating two flights a day on the Tel Aviv-Eilat route.
This allowed Arkia to have annual passenger figures of over 70,000.
As Eilat continued to grow during the 1960s, so did the airline, introducing the
Handley Page Dart Herald 200 turboprop aircraft to its fleet between 1967 and 1968, enabling Arkia to expand with new routes to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and
Sharm-el-Sheikh.
A subsidiary, Kanaf Arkia Airline and Aviation Services, was founded when the airline acquired 50% of the stock of Kanaf Airlines and Aviation Services, and, by the end of the 1960s, scheduled flights were in operation across Israel, from
Rosh Pinna in the north, to
Ofira in the south.

In March 1980, Kanaf Arkia acquired the remaining stock of Arkia and merged the two operators. The airline grew quickly during the 1980s, moving both into the international charter market and airline maintenance.
Development during the 2000s
The airline is now owned by Kanaf-Arkia Airlines (70%) and airline employees (30%). In 2006, the Nakash brothers of
Jordache Enterprises bought Knafaim's 70% share.
In February 2007, the Israeli Tourism Ministry awarded Arkia a scheduled operator's licence for flights to
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, and
Larnaca
Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
, a destination dropped by EL AL. In July 2007, it was announced that the airline planned to file for further scheduled carrier status on routes to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, currently served under charter status. Furthermore, in early 2008, after the Israeli Tourism Ministry opened up the airline market, the airline applied for scheduled carrier status for routes to Barcelona, Berlin, Moscow, and Paris. The licence for Paris was granted in February 2008, and the airline announced that both economy and business class would be offered on this route. At this time, the airline also announced that it would add two
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...
aircraft to its fleet within two years, as well as four
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, wh ...
aircraft it had on order which were to be delivered in 2012.
The order for the 787s was moved to a leasing subsidiary owned by MG Aviation and leased to
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...
. The order was replaced with an order for 4
A330neo aircraft.
In November 2018, Arkia became the launch customer of the
Airbus A321LR
The Airbus A321neo is a single-aisle airliner created by Airbus. The A321neo (''neo'' being an acronym for "new engine option") is developed from the Airbus A321 and Airbus A320neo family. It is the longest stretched fuselage of Airbus's A320 s ...
when it received its first aircraft of the type.
In May 2024, Arkia announced it was
wet-leasing a
Boeing 737-700 from Ukrainian company
SkyUp.
In January 2025, Arkia announced it would begin direct flights between NYC and Tel Aviv starting on 8 February, 2025 using
Airbus A330-900
The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for "Re-engine, New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the original Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those devel ...
aircraft operated by
Iberojet.
In May 2025, Arkia announced it would begin a 2nd direct flight between NYC and Tel Aviv starting in June 2025 using Boeing 787-9 aircraft operated by Neos Air.
Destinations
Fleet

Current fleet
The Arkia Israel Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft :
Historic fleet
Arkia Israel Airlines has also operated the following aircraft:
Livery
In May 2017 Arkia unveiled a new livery, ahead of the delivery of new aircraft, which consists of a lower-case 'a' on the vertical fin, which also features the striping effect and multicoloured stripes on the aft section and the winglets of each aircraft. The colour of the stripes and logo will vary between each aircraft.
Incidents and accidents
* On 28 November 2002,
Arkia Israel Airlines Flight 582, a Boeing 757-300, was narrowly missed by two
anti-aircraft missiles, fired at it shortly after take-off from
Moi International Airport
Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020, the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International ...
in
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
,
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. The plane continued onward and landed safely in Tel Aviv, Israel. The incident occurred approximately 20 minutes before the
Kenyan hotel bombing.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Transportation in Israel
Airlines established in 1950
1949 establishments in Israel
Airlines of Israel
Companies based in Tel Aviv
Israeli brands