The flow of Israelis vacationing abroad is set to continue, and preparations are being made for September 29, which is set to be the most crowded day at Ben Gurion Airport ever.
Over the record-breaking summer, over 4 million passengers have passed through the airport on international flights. According to the Israel Airports Authority's (IAA) forecast, September should see 1.73 million passengers, an increase of 6% from September 2015.
September 29 is expected to be the busiest day in the airport's history in part because that is the date that flights will begin to transport Breslover Hassidim on their annual pilgrimage to his grave in Uman, Ukraine. That is also the date of a rush of holidaymakers who will be leaving the country for the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The IAA expects some 90,000 passengers on 540 international flights that day. The busiest day thus far this summer saw 87,000 passengers.
In preparation for the crowds, the IAA recommends that passengers check in online before coming to the airport and to arrive three hours before the scheduled flight departure. Ben Gurion provides automated border checks, which passengers can go through on exiting the plane.