Israeli airlines planned repatriation flights for citizens stranded abroad as some continued to come home through a land crossing from Egypt on Monday. Meanwhile, officials were discussing when it would be safe to reopen the country’s airspace in a “controlled” manner.
The deliberations come three days after Israel’s main international airport was shuttered with the Saturday morning launch of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
An Israeli Transport Ministry spokeswoman said Monday that there had been no change in directives regarding the airport’s closure.
Israel’s flag carrier, El Al, announced on Monday that it plans to operate flights from 22 destinations in the U.S., Europe and Asia to bring home Israelis who have been stuck abroad once Ben-Gurion International Airport reopens.
El Al is preparing to operate repatriation flights from its primary U.S. gateways in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, as well as from Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand. In Europe, flights will be operated from Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bucharest, Budapest, Geneva, Larnaca, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Sofia, Tbilisi, Warsaw and Zurich.
The flights will be available at no additional cost to customers whose flights were canceled, and will be sold to the general public only after ticket holders have been brought home.
Air Haifa said it will offer similar flights from Athens, Larnaca, Paphos and Sofia as soon as Israeli authorities allow.
Meanwhile, Israeli airline Arkia is already running special flights from Athens, Greece, Larnaca, Cyprus, and Rome, Italy, to Taba in Egypt and back, starting at $359 one-way to help travelers return home via the Taba Border/Menachem Begin Crossing between Sinai and Eilat. The route is in high demand.
Cypriot airline Tus Airways announced on Monday that it would offer similar round-trip flights between Athens and Larnaca and Taba as well.
Israeli carrier Israir announced Monday that it will run special flights from six European destinations to Taba to help stranded customers return home. The airline will operate flights from Prague, Budapest, Sofia, Rovaniemi, Bergamo, and Grenoble for its ticketed customers.
More than 100,000 Israelis were stranded abroad when the war broke out this weekend, while some 33,000 foreign tourists were in Israel.
Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria and the United Arab Emirates also closed their airspace to civilian traffic.
