Overview
- Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s new limits, which took effect Monday, cut Ben Gurion operations to one movement per hour and cap outbound flights at 50 passengers.
- Inbound flights face no passenger cap, but Israeli carriers say the squeeze blocks normal schedules and pushes priority to repatriation, medical cases, and other essential travel.
- El Al said it will run roughly 5% of its usual capacity with up to 15 outbound flights a day to a short list of cities, and it urged the government to open Ramon Airport near Eilat.
- Arkia will shift most flying to Aqaba, Jordan, and Taba, Egypt, keeping only a few routes from Ben Gurion, after what its CEO called a policy that “effectively means closing Israel’s skies.”
- IATA pressed Israel to declare an aviation emergency to limit airline obligations to stranded passengers, while officials weighed tighter safeguards after recent missile barrages and debris damage at the airport.