A further significant tightening of flight operations at Ben-Gurion Airport was announced Sunday evening, as Transportation Minister Miri Regev and senior ministry officials decided to sharply reduce the number of passengers on outbound flights, apparently to about 50 per flight, alongside an additional cut in overall air traffic.
Under the change, which will take effect at midnight, only one departing flight and one arriving flight will be permitted per hour — a roughly 50% reduction in available slots. The move is expected to further curb passenger traffic and deepen the shortage of outbound flights from Israel.
Last Wednesday, the Transportation Ministry had already imposed stricter measures following an unusual incident in which interception debris fell inside the airport grounds, damaging three private aircraft. In response, capacity on wide-body aircraft was reduced to about 130 passengers — roughly half the number approved just days earlier — while narrow-body aircraft remained capped at 120 passengers per flight.
Those restrictions followed a brief period of easing. Earlier in the week, authorities approved increasing capacity on narrow-body planes from 100 to 120 passengers and, for the first time, allowed wide-body flights to North America to operate at full capacity of up to about 270 passengers. The measures were intended to accelerate departures from Israel and meet rising demand, as thousands of Israelis sought to return home or travel abroad.
The overall framework has been built gradually since the start of the fighting, initially limited to a small number of inbound rescue flights, and later expanded to include outbound flights under strict passenger limits. Throughout, the Israel Airports Authority emphasized that the restrictions are driven primarily by security considerations, including the ability to accommodate passengers in protected areas during emergencies.
With the latest tightening, the framework is once again shifting toward stricter limits in line with the current security assessment. Officials in the transportation system said the guidelines could change again at any time.