AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Navigation data from the FlightAware website indicates that the rate of flight cancellations at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv has increased. This came after Miri Regev, the Israeli Minister of Transport, imposed stringent restrictions on flight movements in the occupied territories following the continuation of Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
Al Jazeera reported that according to this data, since the implementation of this decision on Monday, March 24, approximately 110 flights have been canceled in Israel, and it is expected that the number of cancellations will rise as these restrictions continue.
Under the new regulations, only one flight per hour is permitted in the occupied territories, allowing one aircraft to land without a specified passenger capacity ceiling, while only one aircraft may depart from Israel with a maximum of 50 passengers.
This decision has prompted Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, and Arkia to significantly reduce their operations, with Arkia taking measures to transfer part of its operations to alternative destinations.
Analysis of data from Al Jazeera’s open-source intelligence unit shows that El Al has had the highest number of canceled flights over the past three days.
In contrast, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that limiting outbound passengers to 50 per flight is not economically viable for airlines and may lead to further increases in flight cancellations, especially as the Jewish Passover holiday approaches in early April.
El Al has also called for the reopening of Ramon Airport near Eilat in southern Israel as an alternative to Ben Gurion Airport, following the imposition of passenger capacity restrictions.
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