Nearly 98,000 Passengers Travel Through Ben Gurion Airport Amid Ongoing Delays

Despite concerns following last week's chaos, Ben Gurion Airport experienced a relatively calm day with about 98,000 passengers passing through on August 27, matching the previous day's volume. This figure is slightly below early August expectations of over 100,000 travelers for the day. On the prior Sunday, the airport handled approximately 101,000 passengers without significant disruptions, despite the airport workers' union citing a shortage of 400-500 staff and petitioning for shorter shifts after last week's turmoil. For comparison, the airport saw around 107,000 passengers the Thursday before.

Although operations are smoother, congestion remains a challenge. Over the past week, average delays for departures were 89 minutes and 73 minutes for arrivals, with only 7.7% of flights departing on time. However, in the last 24 hours, conditions improved, with average departure delays reduced to 28 minutes, arrival delays to 24 minutes, and over half of flights departing as scheduled.

The airport continues to manage high passenger volumes amid staffing concerns and operational delays, but the situation is currently stable. Meanwhile, preparations for upcoming metro tenders have begun, signaling ongoing infrastructure developments.