U.S. Military to Pull About 20% of Its Tankers from Ben Gurion Airport

The U.S. military is preparing to withdraw about 20% of the American refueling aircraft currently stationed at Ben Gurion Airport, according to a report published Tuesday morning by N12. The move comes after Washington and Tehran reached an understanding memorandum meant to pave the way for a permanent end to the war.

For months, dozens of U.S. tanker aircraft have been parked across large areas of Ben Gurion and Ramon airports. Their presence drew criticism from Israeli aviation officials over the strain on civilian airport operations and parking space.

Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakai previously warned that Ben Gurion was effectively being run as "a military base and not a civilian airport." The planned partial evacuation is expected to ease parking congestion somewhat, but most of the American tanker force is still expected to remain in Israel for now.

The report said the operational impact on Ben Gurion should therefore be limited. The U.S. had previously indicated the aircraft would stay in Israel at least through the end of the year, but it is now preparing to remove part of the deployment earlier.