The Israeli government has decided to reopen its airspace from the night between March 4 and March 5, 2026. Now limited flights will be operated from Ben Gurion Airport, which has been closed for the last few days. The main objective of this decision is to bring back safely the Israeli citizens stranded in the Gulf region i.e. countries like UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.
What is the new rule regarding flights?
Transport Minister Miri Regev and the Civil Aviation Authority have drawn up a phased plan to open the airspace. Under this, the number of flights will be increased gradually keeping in view the security situation.
First Step: Only one passenger aircraft will be allowed to land or take off every hour.
Second step: After security checks, this can be increased to two aircraft per hour.
Airlines: Currently only Israeli airlines like El Al, Arkia and Israir have been allowed to fly.
Foreign Airlines: Services of airlines of other countries will remain suspended till at least March 7.
Ticket booking and airlines status
Airlines have clarified the situation regarding ticket sales and refunds to provide relief to stranded passengers. El Al and its subsidiary Sundar said passengers whose flights were canceled will not be charged any extra fees for recovery flights.
Ban on airline ticket sales El Al General sales closed till 21 March Arkia/Israir Sales closed from 15 to 18 March
According to officials, around 40,000 to 3,00,000 citizens may be stranded abroad. Keeping security in mind, normal flights have not been fully resumed yet. This is a big update for people living in or traveling from Gulf countries as air fares had seen an increase of 200 to 300 percent due to the closure of airspace.
