Israeli authorities have announced that the deployment of dozens of US military refueling planes at Ben Gurion Airport over the past two months has caused financial damage to the airport of approximately 700 million shekels (equivalent to $248 million).
According to Sharon Kademi, Director General of the Israel Airports Authority, the presence of these aircraft has reduced Ben Gurion Airport’s operational capacity by about a third, and nearly 70 percent of airport activities are restricted.
The airport has warned that the airport has reached its operational capacity limit and that if the current situation continues, flight cancellations will increase and financial losses could reach billions of dollars.
Based on these statements, it was predicted that the number of passengers at this airport would reach 18 million this year, but now estimates indicate that this figure will probably not exceed 15 million.
Regime aviation officials have also said that the return of foreign airlines to normal operations at the airport has been delayed, and millions of passengers may be affected by flight delays and cancellations.
Israeli media had previously reported that the widespread presence of US military aircraft had effectively turned Ben Gurion Airport into a center with primarily military use, placing significant pressure on the country’s civil aviation sector.
