A new Israeli airline currently being set up, TUS IL, has started to recruit pilots, Globes has learned on Thursday. It is believed that the company will start commercial operations at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The company is looking for experienced Airbus A320 pilots, and is offering a promotion track to the rank of captain within two years and after 3,000 flying hours. The company is headed by former Arkia CEO Nir Dagan.

TUS IL belongs to the Holiday Lines Group, an Israeli tourism group that owns Greek airline Blue Bird and Cypriot airline TUS Airways. The new airline, which has already obtained a commercial license from the Ministry of Transport and is at the advanced stages of obtaining an operating license, will offer flights to nearby destinations with a flight time of four to five hours.

Because the two airlines that Holiday Lines Group already owns are European, with European licenses, they are limited to offering flights from Israel to destinations within the EU, and are prevented from expanding to destinations such as Georgia and Dubai, two destinations that TUS IL plans to cover.

Holiday Lines Group is owned by Ami Cohen and Arnon Englender. It is one of the biggest players in the tourism industry in Israel. During the Gaza war it benefited from a significant rise in the activity of TUS Airways and Blue Bird, which remained operational almost throughout, with only short halts.

Four airlines currently operate in Israel: El Al (and its Sun D'Or subsidiary); Israir, Arkia, and Air Haifa, which began operating during the war.

Unlike Air Haifa, a new airline such as TUS IL operating from Ben Gurion Airport will face broader competition, mainly from Sun D'Or, Israir, and Arkia, which fly to destinations outside the EU, among them Georgia and the UAE.