The director of Israel’s airport authority announced Thursday that Ben-Gurion International Airport is functioning at severely reduced capacity due to American military aircraft operations taking up significant space and resources at the facility.
Sharon Kedmi, who leads the Israel Airports Authority, spoke with Kan’s Reshet Bet radio and explained that military operations are restricting 70% of normal airport functions at the country’s primary aviation hub located near Tel Aviv.
“We are only utilizing one-third of the airport’s operational capacity,” Kedmi stated. “We are at the limit of our capabilities. There will be flights that we will announce in the coming days that are being cancelled.”
According to Kedmi, international airlines won’t be resuming operations anytime soon, and approximately 3 million travelers may face flight cancellations. Currently, numerous American tanker aircraft are stationed at the airport.
The financial impact has been substantial, with the airport authority reporting losses of 700 million shekels ($248 million) over the past two months. Kedmi warned that continued disruptions could result in losses reaching into the billions of shekels.
While projections initially called for 18 million passengers to travel through the facility, Kedmi noted that “right now it looks like we won’t exceed 15 million.”
“We have no information when the U.S. military’s activities at the airport will end. We are in a constant state of flux,” Kedmi explained.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem directed inquiries to the State Department, which has not yet provided a response.
Reports from earlier this month indicated that Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakay had raised similar concerns about American military aircraft disrupting civilian operations, preventing foreign carriers from returning and driving up ticket prices.
Zakay reportedly told the Transportation Minister that “Ben-Gurion has turned into a military airfield with limited civilian activity,” and expressed concerns about negative effects on domestic airlines.
News outlets have reported that when the Iran conflict began, Israeli carriers relocated aircraft to other countries, and not all planes have been brought back to the airport.
