‘Ben Gurion Airport is now a US military base,’ says Israeli official

Israeli airlines warn reduced aircraft access is driving up ticket prices and limiting flights.

By World Israel News Staff

The head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned that the continued presence of American military aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport — Israel’s main international gateway — poses serious long-term risks to freedom of movement in and out of the Jewish state.

Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, American military aircraft have occupied significant space at the airport, leaving little room for civilian planes to park and severely limiting the scheduling of commercial flights, according to CAA Director General Shmuel Zakai.

“Under the current circumstances, the State of Israel no longer has an international airport capable of operating efficiently. Ben Gurion Airport has effectively become an American military base with only limited civilian activity,” Zakai wrote in a letter addressed to Transportation Minister Miri Regev and senior ministry official Moshe Ben Zaken.

“Ben Gurion International Airport is the main civilian airport of the State of Israel. Turning it into a military base harms not only the airlines, it harms all citizens of the state,” he continued, according to the letter, which was viewed by Hebrew-language outlet Calcalist.

“It appears the defense establishment does not fully understand the severity of the damage to civil aviation or the impact that limited flights have on prices and on the country’s citizens,” Zakai added.

He concluded the letter by warning that the Transportation Ministry could no longer ignore the issue. While a shaky truce between the U.S. and Iran is officially in place, it is unlikely the conflict will end anytime soon.

The working assumption “is that this crisis and regional instability will last for months and continue into the summer,” Zakai wrote.

During a Knesset Economy Committee hearing on Sunday, Israir CEO Uri Sirkis said the airline, which normally keeps 17 planes at Ben Gurion Airport, has currently been granted permission to park only four. He warned that the restriction is not only driving up flight costs but also limiting the number of flights Israeli airlines can operate.