Israeli airlines, led by El Al, will begin operating a limited number of one-way flights to Tel Aviv on Wednesday to gradually bring home the tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad by the war against Iran.
The first El Al flights, which are completely sold out, will depart from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milano and Paris, Israel’s national carrier stated on Tuesday.
Three smaller Israeli airlines—Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa—will also start flying passengers back to Tel Aviv on June 18 if security conditions permit. Their initial pre-assigned repatriation flights were also sold out.
The news came as some 150,000 Israelis remain stranded abroad since the Jewish state closed its airspace to civilian traffic after launching a preemptive strike on Friday against Iranian nuclear and military sites.
The El Al flights to Tel Aviv will only be available to travelers whose tickets were canceled due to the war.
There will be no outbound flights from Israel. Israel’s airspace for commercial flights remains closed through at least Monday.
More than 60,000 passengers signed up on El Al’s registration site in the hour after the return flights were announced on Monday.
Prioritization of flight assignment is subject to the date of cancellation of the original flight and exceptional medical humanitarian cases.
Arkia will let those wanting to return to Israel book a flight on its website, while Israir said that it would first work to return its ticketed passengers, starting with group travel. Air Haifa announced that it will run up to nine daily flights from Larnaca, beginning with ticketed passengers.
Miri Regev, Israeli minister of transportation, announced on Monday that the rescue flights would begin within 72 hours pending final security approval.
The head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority warned this weekend that it will take weeks before all Israelis stranded abroad will be able to fly home.
Israeli carriers have relocated their planes to Larnaca, Cyprus, and Athens, Greece, in line with the recommendations of a contingency plan developed ahead of the strike on Iran.
