Ben-Gurion Airport (archives)
צילום: גלעד קוולרצ'יק
Leaving Israel more expensive now
New year brings hike in transit fees for people flying abroad, departing for Egypt or Jordan through border crossings
The transit fees for people leaving abroad, both on international flights and through the border crossings to Egypt and Jordan, were hiked Thursday morning.
The fee for people flying abroad was raised from $13 to $21.7 per passenger, while the transit fee to Egypt and Jordan was increased to NIS 90 (about $24) from NIS 84 ($22) for people passing through the Taba Border Terminal to Sinai, the Yitzhak Rabin (Arava) Border Terminal to Jordan and the Jordan River Crossing.
The transit fee to Jordan through the Allenby Bridge was raised from NIS 146 ($39) to NIS 157 ($41).
The port tax for people flying abroad was raised in accordance with a decision made by the Knesset's Economics Committee. Despite the hike, it is still one of the cheapest transit fees in the world.
Simultaneously, a discounted fee of $10 (instead of $13) will be introduced in Ben-Gurion Airport's Terminal 1, as well as in the Eilat and Ovda airports.
The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) Council reached a binding decision that all the funds collected from the transit fee hike will be used to upgrade security and safety and develop infrastructures.
The IAA plans to invest NIS 3.7 billion ($985 million) in the coming year: NIS 100,000 ($26,620) in the construction of a new control tower, NIS 300 million ($80,000) in a security check system, NIS 760 million ($201.5 million) in a runway system, and NIS 760 million in a fourth branch.
