Tel Aviv, Israel. El Al Israel Airlines said it was reviewing its operations after the Transportation Ministry ordered a reduction of traffic at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. The carrier called on authorities to open Ramon Airport near Eilat as an alternative.
Transportation Ministry limits flights after security assessment
Transportation Minister Miri Regev decided late Sunday, following a security assessment, to scale back the number of takeoffs and landings from Ben Gurion “in order to prevent potential risk to human life”.
Israel’s air defences have intercepted more than 90% of Iranian missiles fired at Israel, but there were two failures on Saturday night that led to scores of civilian injuries in two southern Israeli towns.
Regev said the decision to limit flights to one incoming flight with no passenger limit and one outgoing flight with up to 50 passengers per hour came after more than 140,000 people had already flown back to Israel.
El Al examines impact and urges opening of Ramon Airport
El Al, which has been operating repatriation flights since the outbreak of the air war with Iran on February 28, said it was examining the implications of the new framework.
“The company is working to formulate a reduced operating format that will allow the continuation of essential activity to maintain an air bridge to and from Israel,” El Al said.
“At the same time, El Al is calling for the opening of Ramon Airport as a complementary alternative to Ben Gurion Airport, in order to preserve aviation activity and provide a solution for passengers,” it added.
Ramon Airport is more than a four-hour drive from Tel Aviv and is close to Eilat, which borders Aqaba in Jordan and Taba in Egypt, where other Israeli carriers have been operating some flights.
Arkia shifts most operations to Aqaba and Taba
Arkia Airlines said it was shifting the majority of its operations to Aqaba and Taba.
It said its flights to New York, Bangkok and Hanoi would operate at full capacity from Aqaba, while flights would still operate to and from Ben Gurion to Larnaca and Athens.
“Under the current framework, it is not possible to maintain regular aviation operations, and in practice it amounts to the closure of Israel’s skies,” Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz said.
How do the new flight limits at Ben Gurion Airport affect your travel plans?