By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, March 2 (Reuters) - Israel's main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, said on its WhatsApp channel that it expects to reopen as early as Monday evening
Israel's main airport to reopen on Monday in 'extremely limited format'
Ben Gurion Airport Reopening and Flight Operations Amid Conflict
By Steven Scheer
Reopening Plans for Ben Gurion Airport
JERUSALEM, March 2 (Reuters) - Israel's main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, said on its WhatsApp channel that it expects to reopen as early as Monday night in an "extremely limited format" after the conflict with Iran shut Israeli airspace.
The airport said that starting on Tuesday, "flight operations will gradually expand depending on the security situation," although only Israeli carriers are expected to resume flights.
Impact of Regional Conflict on Air Travel
Israel and the U.S. began bombing Iran on Saturday, triggering a wave of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East that have led to flight chaos, with hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded worldwide.
El Al Israel Airlines Response
Flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines said on Monday it was seeking approval to operate charter flights from Europe to destinations bordering Israel to bring back passengers stuck abroad.
The airline is considering flights to Taba in Egypt, which borders the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat and Aqaba in Jordan, which is also adjacent to Eilat.
Flight Cancellations and Ticket Sales
Israeli airlines have so far cancelled flights through Tuesday. Flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines said it has halted the sale of tickets until March 21 to allow its customers whose flights were cancelled to be accommodated as soon as the airspace opens.
Smaller rivals Arkia and Israir have suspended the sale of tickets until March 15 and March 18, respectively.
Rescue and Recovery Flights
Arkia on Sunday began rescue flights and is operating flights between Athens, Rome, Larnaca and Sofia to Taba. It said tens of thousands of its customers are now stuck.
El Al said it was planning rescue flights from more than 20 cities, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Bangkok, London, Paris and other cities in Europe to bring back an estimated 40,000 of its passengers stranded abroad.
Another 34,000 tourists are also currently in Israel.
Private Airline and Alternative Routes
It added it was examining the possibility of operating flights using private airline KlasJet from European cities to Taba and Aqaba.
But it added that at this time, "we will not operate flights to Taba, due to the lack of approval from the security authorities in Israel."
It said these flights were "subject to approval from the State of Israel and the security authorities".
Israir and Wizz Air Initiatives
Israir said it was planning to start recovery flights to Taba starting on Tuesday from six European cities including Prague, Budapest and Sofia.
Wizz Air said it was adding "substantial extra capacity" to Sharm El-Sheikh from several of its largest European bases - such as Budapest, London and Rome - starting from Friday.
"The airline is preparing recovery options to help passengers reach their original destinations as soon as conditions allow, working closely with aviation authorities and airport partners to secure safe operating windows and routes," it said in a statement.
Border Crossings and Additional Measures
The Israeli Airports Authority said its Taba border crossing will be open 24 hours, while three crossings to and from Jordan will be open during day and evening hours.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Cynthia Osterman)
