A framework to gradually reopen the airspace between Wednesday and Thursday in order to return those stranded outside the country during Operation Roaring Lion has been put into motion, Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced on Tuesday.
Ben-Gurion Airport has been closed to both arrivals and departures since the start of the joint US-Israeli war against Iran on Saturday.
Thousands of Israelis have been stranded abroad since, and flights to Israel were canceled worldwide. Some have been returning through land border crossings.
Under the new framework, Regev said the reopening of Ben-Gurion Airport will be gradual. During the first 24 hours, one plane will land per hour. After that, the rate will increase to two planes per hour.
As part of the plan, the airport will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike the limited operating hours during the 12 Day War with Iran in June, Regev said.
Slow increase in flights until all Israelis are brought back
After the first 24-hour period, the airport will be able to handle approximately 8,000 to 9,000 passengers per day, the CEO of the Israel Airports Authority, Sharon Kedmi, said during a joint press conference with Regev on Tuesday.
“We believe that if everything goes as planned, within a week to 10 days, we will bring back all the Israelis,” he said.
Regev added that the framework remains subject to change depending on ongoing security assessments.
The initial time frame to reopen the airspace had been set for next week, Regev said on Monday, following a situational assessment at Ben-Gurion Airport with officials from the Transportation Ministry, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Israel Airports Authority.
“I cannot detail all of the actions we are taking,” Regev said on Monday. “However, I can say at this stage that we are in contact with neighboring countries, and thousands of Israelis are returning home through land crossings, which we have reinforced, and which remain open.”
The transportation minister also said that as of Monday, Israel “had completed the first stage” of the effort to bring home those stranded abroad by evacuating Israeli aircraft and flight crews on approximately 70 planes away from the country.
Israel’s flag carrier, El Al, stated on Tuesday that a customer whose flight was canceled would be reassigned to a return flight to Israel at no additional cost, based on priority and in the order of the original return date to Israel.
“All our customers will return to Israel at no additional cost. We will give priority to exceptional humanitarian medical cases, even if they did not purchase an El Al ticket. It is possible to contact us via a special form on the El Al website,” the airline said.
On Monday, El Al also announced that it was beginning preparations for the recovery operation of those stranded, which will commence once Ben-Gurion Airport reopens.
In the first phase, the airline is preparing to operate recovery flights from its primary gateways, El Al said.
These include gateways in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles; Asian gateways in Bangkok and Phuket; and European gateways in Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, Paris, Budapest, Tbilisi, Sofia, Warsaw, Bucharest, Madrid, London, Barcelona, Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, and Zurich.
“Tickets for flights will be open for sale to the general public only after all El Al and Sun D’Or customers have been brought home,” the airline added.