Dozens of aircraft may be moved from Ben Gurion to ease parking shortage

About 20 aircraft are expected to be moved from Ben Gurion Airport to Israeli Air Force bases in the coming days, in order to free up additional parking stands for Israeli airlines. The step is meant to prevent disruptions to flight schedules and passengers during the summer travel peak, which is already underway, and industry sources say it could at least partially relieve the airport’s parking crunch and help foreign carriers eventually return to Israel.

The move follows an urgent letter from Transportation Minister Miri Regev to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning of a severe parking shortage at Ben Gurion ahead of the summer peak and the High Holidays of Tishrei. Regev said that without an immediate solution, there could be a serious lack of aircraft parking spaces, affecting more than 2.4 million scheduled tickets.

After her appeal, Netanyahu instructed the head of the National Security Council to produce an immediate solution. Under the plan now being implemented, about 20 planes will be transferred in the next few days, and a second stage, expected around July, will free up about 17 more parking positions.

The arrangement is intended to allow Israeli airlines to keep operating their planned summer schedules without widespread flight cancellations. At the same time, reports indicate that American aircraft currently parked at Ben Gurion are also expected to leave Israel following the agreement signed between the United States and Iran, a development that could further ease congestion at the airport.