U.S. Halts Removal of Refueling Aircraft From Ben Gurion Amid Gulf Tensions

Channel 12 News reported today (Tuesday) that the U.S. military has decided to pause the removal of its refueling aircraft from Ben Gurion Airport, citing rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.

According to the report, Airports Authority Director General Sharon Kadmi sent an urgent letter to Transportation Ministry Director General Moshe Ben Zaken, warning that "the decision could lead to the cancellation of about 50,000 airline tickets by the end of July."

Kadmi wrote that "this development has immediate and severe operational consequences. If the agreed evacuation plan is not resumed immediately, a significant shortage of parking stands for passenger aircraft is expected to develop at Ben Gurion Airport starting July 23, forcing the Airports Authority to cancel about 10 flights a day."

He added: "The result will be harm to about 50,000 airline tickets within a month, with serious consequences for the traveling public, the airlines, economic activity, and the reputation of the State of Israel and Ben Gurion Airport as a reliable aviation hub."

Kadmi concluded by urging immediate action: "We urgently request, in the strongest possible terms, that the agreed framework be implemented and the evacuation of the aircraft completed in accordance with the commitments that were made, in order to prevent the serious operational and public consequences expected in the coming days. Without freeing parking stands for civilian aviation, there will be no choice but to take significant operational steps, including flight cancellations."

By midday, it was reported that following the appeal, the Airports Authority issued an unusual temporary directive to Israeli air traffic control stating that "American refueling aircraft are not to be cleared to land at Ben Gurion Airport." According to the report, the directive was issued at the instruction of the Transportation Ministry.

As previously reported, about six weeks ago Transportation Minister Miri Regev appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the large number of U.S. military refueling aircraft occupying parking stands at Ben Gurion Airport.

In her letter, Regev warned that "the civilian aviation sector is, in effect, under an operational lockdown. The parking stands are occupied, the allocation quotas for Israeli airlines have been drastically reduced, and the airport's capacity is significantly below national needs."

Transportation Ministry officials have proposed relocating the refueling aircraft to Israeli Air Force bases. Since then, the United States has transferred some of the aircraft to Europe, and dozens of planes that had been stationed at Ramon Airport have also been moved. However, several dozen refueling aircraft remain at Ben Gurion Airport, and in recent days additional aircraft have reportedly returned.