El Al Israel Airlines said on Monday it would sharply cut back its operations, and seat availability will shrink to 5% of normal after the Transportation Ministry ordered a reduction in traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Israel's flag carrier, which has been operating repatriation flights since the outbreak of the US-Israel air war with Iran on February 28, called on authorities to open Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat as an alternative to Ben-Gurion.
Late on Sunday, after a security assessment, Transportation Minister Miri Regev opted to scale back the number of takeoffs and landings from Ben-Gurion "in order to prevent potential risk to human life."
While Israel's air defenses have intercepted more than 90% of Iranian missiles fired at Israel, there were two failures on Saturday night that led to scores of civilian injuries in two Israeli southern towns.
Regev said the decision limits the airport to one incoming flight and one outgoing flight per hour. The incoming flight has no passenger-number restriction, while the outgoing flight is limited to 50 passengers.
"These strict limitations at Ben-Gurion Airport effectively mean the airline is operating only essential flights, with the goal of maintaining the air bridge between Israel and the world," El Al said, noting "special priority will be given to exceptional humanitarian and medical cases."
After examining the implications of the new framework, it will operate limited flights to only several key destinations: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris, Rome, and Athens.
El Al calls for Ramon Airport operations
"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 said.
More than a four-hour drive from Tel Aviv, Ramon is close to Eilat, which borders Aqaba, Jordan, and Taba, Egypt, where other Israeli carriers have been operating flights.
Israel's Arkia Airlines said it was shifting the majority of its operations to Aqaba and Taba, including flights to New York, Bangkok, and Hanoi. Flights to and from Larnaca and Athens will remain at Ben-Gurion.
"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," said Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz.
"The company cannot be required to choose between passengers who have already purchased tickets, and therefore we are preparing to shift most of our operations to Aqaba and Taba airports, in order to maintain aviation continuity as much as possible."