Ryanair's phantom (?) flights

Hmm...

Carrying mail and other cargo ( in' empty' planes) and avoiding refunds is 'cheaper' than parking the planes and making refunds...?

Interesting concept, and one I would not put past discount carriers.

Also means the pilots are flying so they are not required to go through refresher training after a prolonged period of inactivity.

I have no reason to say your suspicions are baseless.

Could landing rights be at risk if not used for a long time?

It could be people being repatriated. Some could be flying and factoring in a 14 day quarantine period.

Joe – I doubt that anyone’s using budget carriers for mail or cargo. There are scheduled cargo flights in/out of Israel and they’ve been operating throughout the shutdown. And I can’t believe there’s any mail or cargo between us and Paphos or Larnaca!

Ann – I doubt it. There are very few legacy airline flights. For instance, Lufthansa has one or two, but those are surely with connections to the US. And Israeli airlines aren’t flying any overseas routes.

Jennifer – In the months since the shutdown began (most int’l flights were cancelled from early April if not sooner), I haven’t heard of foreigners stranded here in Israel. In March and April Israel made huge efforts to bring back Israelis stuck abroad and there’ve been no reports in the news of Israelis not able to come home since then. And as I said, there are non-stop United flights to Newark (daily) and San Francisco (3/week) and Delta to JFK daily.

Peculiar and interesting!!

It really isn't that strange.

Regular airliners have been used during the Covid 19 crisis as cargo flights. It doesn't matter whether it's a discount airline, legacy carrier or cargo carrier. With the seats removed, a Boeing 737, as an example, is basically the same regardless of whose name is on the outside. Many airlines carry cargo on their regular passenger flights.

People are not only being repatriated but others are traveling as well. While not advertised, certain individuals can get waivers--athletes, performers, holders of diplomatic passports, some students and essential professional workers. They can get exemptions frorm the quarantine. Additionally, most people can transfer at airports without quarantine. So the flight you might see from Berlin may hold people from numerous countries.

And don't forget, El Al is grounded. Some airlines have to pick up the slack.

And as for the concept of flying so they don't have to give refunds.....sorry, no. The rules state that if you are denied boarding, and they can't get you to your destination in a timely manner, you are entitled to compensation. If they can't get you there at all, you get a refund. The flight may go but you could have been bumped.

Despite closed borders there are still people flying, for whatever valid(?) reasons they have. I also wonder if the higher percentage of people with an Israeli passport also possessing a second passport (both American and EU origin) adds to the traffic. Despite 14 Day Quarantines, if you have a home passport, you get in to a Country, then you can "Quarantine" as you see fit.

But in general, airlines are finding that it makes sense to maintain some level of flights for reasons ranging from holding flight slots, maintaining minimal passenger traffic (not ceding to other carriers), other revenue (FedEx/DHL etc.) and even chartered cargo. Does avoiding refunds play a role? maybe, but an airline does not know if the ticket you bought will still be used for a valid reason, it is a stretch to assume 100% of the flight will cancel.

I read elsewhere that in order to keep contracts with airports and their flight slots, there had to be a number of flights made even if empty, so there have been ghost flights, but I don't think they were actually organized with the public able to see them or book them. There is talk that some airlines are doing what you suggest - using passengers as 'piggy banks', but it was reported in May to be flights to and from the US due to the rules.

Often cargo is a bigger money maker than passengers so it could easily be that.

I'm not sure Europe is as closed as you're thinking. I looked yesterday at requirements for France. The U.S. State Department is still advising no travel anywhere but it looks like France is giving me options. I can either quarantine for 14 days (won't do that) or I can present a negative COVID test from within 72 hours of travel (I can do that).

regarding Brad's assertion, it has been shown in other threads that travel to France for tourism is NOT allowed at the moment for US residents who are not in one of the very few exceptional categories.