El Al Israel Airlines is set to resume operations in the form of, returning Israeli nationals to Israel after the government permitted a reopening of the airport and the country’s airspace. The country’s airspace had been closed since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran.
Operations Resume in Limited Capacity due to Word from Transport Minister
Miri Regev, the transport minister of the country, initially said that airports will reopen on the evening of March 4. However, a following Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) authorised flights which already had prior permission to resume both arrivals and departures.
Only arrivals from the West are authorised as of now, and as a safety measure, the relevant authorities will only allow one flight per hour to resume operations, to assure the departure of passengers. Though it has been announced that the plan is to further increase this number to two flights per hour, no exact time frame for this plan has been made public.
The transport minister has made the suggestion of March 8 as a possible date for a “reopening of Israeli airspace”, though again, there are no specifics on whether this means a complete removal of restrictions, or a reopening with the capacity caps still in place.
Airlines Schedules Vary
The first flight of El Al Israel Airlines was a cargo service coming from Athens, operated by the airline’s B737-800(BCF). Permission has been given for cargo services from New York (JFK), Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), and Liège to Challenge Airlines (LGG), though the airport had remained closed on the night of March 3-4, as shown by ADS-B data.
The airline also stated that it is prioritising the return of Israeli nationals stranded in over 22 locations around Europe, Thailand and the U.S.. All commercial sales have been suspended until March 21 to free up capacity for necessary operations. There are no outbound flights currently planned.
In the meantime, Arkia Israeli Airlines and Israir Airlines are operating repatriation charters set to arrive in Taba, Egypt, which have been approved by the Israeli security apparatus in the name of ensuring passengers can swiftly cross the border back inside Israel.
Travel Radar will continue monitoring the airspace situation as it unfolds. Is anyone you know affected by the current situation? Let us know in the comments.
