Israelis are gradually returning to flying for vacations and trips abroad at the same time as the gradual return of foreign airlines to operating flight routes to Ben Gurion Airport. According to the Airport Fields forecast, over 1.2 million passengers will pass through Ben Gurion Airport in April and during Passover - a sharp increase of About 33% compared to March.
The expectation is for about 60,000 passengers a day in Israel during the Passover holiday on international flights. The peak day in Israel is expected on April 21, on the eve of the holiday.
However, due to the security situation, the volume of passengers during the Passover holiday this year is expected to be about 40% compared to the corresponding period last year.
The leading destination in Passover 2024 will be Cyprus with approximately 60 aircraft movements per day and approximately 1,840 flights during the month of April. Other leading destinations are expected to be the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Italy. After some airlines resumed flights to Israel in recent months, in April more international airlines are expected to return to Israel, including British Airways, Iberia, KLM and Air Canada.
The Airports Authority is preparing for the increase in the number of passengers and, among other things, the number of employees will be increased, kiosks will be operated for fast express check-in and independent baggage delivery, the addition of fast electronic check-in stations to shorten the queues on special routes for hand luggage holders and the expansion of the shuttle system for transporting passengers between the terminals and the parking lots
"Although the fighting in Gaza and the northern border still continues, the Transportation Ministry is promoting the preparation for an increase in passenger traffic and the return of international companies to and from Israel in air traffic," noted the Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev. "Together with the airport authority and the management of the National Airport, we encourage the return of the international airlines, which have stopped their operations here since the beginning of the war."
Regev also stated that the goal is to increase the supply of flights and to create competition that will lead to a reduction in ticket prices. "I am happy to see that our efforts are bearing fruit and that additional aviation groups are returning to us for Passover and will allow all residents of Israel, especially the reserve servants, to go and refresh themselves abroad, together with the entire Israeli people," she said
The Director General of the Transportation Ministry, Moshe Ben Zaken, said that in view of the expected increase in activity at the airport towards the summer and the return of more international airlines to Israel, the management of the Rasht Authority has been instructed to prepare for the opening of Terminal 1, which is mainly used for low-cost flights. "The terminal will return for activity already at the beginning of June" he announced.