In a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Transport Minister Miri Regev stressed that without a rapid solution to the parking shortage at Ben Gurion Airport, the public would begin receiving notifications of mass cancellations of summer and holiday flights.
According to the letter, issued on Sunday, the Israel Airports Authority is expected to reach a deadline on Tuesday, June 16, when it must inform airlines of potential cancellations if no solution is found to the parking shortage at Ben Gurion Airport.
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In a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Transport Minister Miri Regev stressed that the public would begin receiving notifications of mass cancellations of summer and holiday flights
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Regev wrote that unless several U.S. refueling aircraft currently stationed at Ben Gurion and Ramon Airport are immediately relocated, either to Israeli Air Force bases or airports outside Israel, more than 2.4 million tickets for the summer season and Jewish holidays (from September 11 to October 4) could be canceled.
She called for part of the aircraft to be moved to military bases, warning that failure to act would trigger “direct economic damage of billions of shekels” to airlines, tourism and the wider economy. She also said the move could harm Israel’s reputation as an aviation destination.
“Mass cancellations of summer and holiday flights at a time when the Israeli public needs relief and normalcy more than ever will harm national morale and civic resilience,” she wrote.
Regev noted that talks are ongoing with the United States to move the aircraft to nearby countries, but said this option is not feasible in the immediate term. She argued that the practical alternative is relocating some of the U.S. refueling aircraft to Israeli Air Force bases.
She said about 72 refueling aircraft belonging to the U.S. are currently parked at Ben Gurion Airport, taking up more than half of available parking capacity, while another 26 aircraft are stationed at Ramon Airport, occupying about 90% of parking spaces there.
This is the second letter Regev has sent on the issue in less than three weeks. On May 26, she wrote to Netanyahu, the defense minister and the acting head of the National Security Council, warning that the presence of U.S. aircraft was creating a worsening operational crisis and harming the recovery of the aviation sector.
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About 72 refueling aircraft belonging to the U.S. are currently parked at Ben Gurion Airport
(Photo: Dedi Hayun/Reuters)
In that earlier letter, she said a “unprecedented distortion” had been created in which civilian aviation was effectively under an operational lockdown while demand for flights was recovering.
In the new letter, she escalates her tone and sets a clear deadline. “If half of the refuelers are not removed by Tuesday, June 16, we will inform more than two million citizens that their summer flights, including Breslov trips to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, are canceled,” she wrote.
Regev also urged Netanyahu to instruct the Air Force to move part of its aircraft to civilian airstrips across the country to free up space for the US refueling fleet. She said the Airports Authority is prepared to make available airfields such as Rosh Pina, Megiddo, Sde Teiman and Ein Yahav.
In comments to ynet on Sunday, Regev said: “We are full of appreciation for the Americans and want them to remain here. We simply want to distribute the burden across the country and reduce the load at Ben Gurion.”
The Airports Authority CEO Sharon Kedmi warned in a conversation with ynet on Thursday that without a solution to the parking shortage airlines would soon have to begin notifying passengers of cancellations. He estimated that “one in every four passengers will receive a cancellation notice.”
He explained that dozens of U.S. transport and refueling aircraft stationed at Ben Gurion and Ramon occupy a significant share of available parking capacity.
In her letter, Regev wrote: “On Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the Airports Authority must formally instruct Israeli airlines to notify customers of the cancellation of more than 2.4 million flight tickets for the summer season and holidays.”
She added that the situation would cause severe economic damage to aviation and tourism, and warned it could also harm Israel’s credibility as a destination.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond. Airlines have also declined to comment so far.