US refuelers at Ben Gurion could ground 2.4 million summer travelers, Regev warns

Transportation minister appeals to Netanyahu to help relocate at least 30 of the 72 American aircraft that are crowding out civilian planes at Tel Aviv’s international airport

Transportation Minister Miri Regev warned on Sunday that unless many of the US aircraft parked at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport are relocated immediately, some 2.4 million plane tickets scheduled for the peak summer months and holiday season could be canceled.

In an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Regev cautioned about a “direct economic loss of billions of shekels to airlines, the tourism industry, and the economy as a whole.”

The current situation will “severely damage Israel’s credibility as an aviation destination and may put off airlines that have only recently returned to flying to Israel following the April ceasefire [with Iran],” she wrote in the letter.

“Mass flight cancellations for summer vacations and holidays at a time when the Israeli public needs calm and normalcy more than ever will damage national morale and civic resilience,” Regev said. “Flight cancellations will be another blow to the public, and responsibility for this will be rightly attributed to the government’s inability to provide a solution to a solvable problem.”

A fleet of about 72 US refuelers and cargo planes is parked at Ben Gurion Airport as part of the US military buildup in the region due to the war with Iran, according to Regev. In addition, another fleet of 26 American aircraft is stationed at the Ramon airport in southern Israel.

The significant presence of US military aircraft occupying areas at Ben Gurion has been delaying a full return to normal commercial flight operations at Israel’s main international gateway following the US-Israel war with Iran.

The congestion at Ben Gurion is making operations more expensive for local airlines, due to parking costs at bases outside of Israel, while limiting the number of flights Israeli airlines can operate.

Regev sent the letter ahead of a June 16 deadline, when airlines are expected to be informed by the Israel Airports Authority that they need to prepare to cancel some of their flights scheduled for the summer peak season starting on July 1 and potentially the High Holidays season in September and October.

Currently, more than 65,000 passengers pass through Ben Gurion Airport daily for arrivals and departures. As summer vacation starts on July 1, daily passenger traffic is expected to climb to about 70,000 to 100,000 in August, which the airport will not be able to handle due to a shortage of parking stands.

Israel Airport Authority CEO Sharon Kedmi last week told news outlet Ynet that without a solution to the parking shortage, “every fourth passenger will receive a cancellation notice.”

Ahead of the US-Israel war with Iran, which broke out on February 28 and led to the closure of Israeli airspace, local airlines moved their fleets out of the country to prevent them from being targeted by the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, American refueling tankers arrived at Ben Gurion as part of the US’s massive buildup of military forces in the Middle East.

Since the fragile ceasefire announcement in early April and the reopening of Ben Gurion to regular civilian air traffic, local airlines – El Al, Arkia, and Israir – have not been able to return their entire fleet to the airport because of parking congestion caused by the presence of the US refueling tankers.

“We understand the importance of security cooperation with the US, and there is no intention to harm it,” Regev wrote in the letter. “The solution is to immediately relocate about 30 US aircraft to airports outside of Israel, or move them to local Air Force bases.”

US President Donald Trump expressed hope that an agreement ending the war was imminent.