The flights are part of a government effort to bring home an estimated 100,000 Israelis who have been unable to return since the airspace was shut on Saturday, when Israel launched a joint air assault with the United States on Iranian military targets. Iran has since responded with hundreds of missile and drone attacks against Israel and numerous countries in the region hosting US bases.
The Israel Airports Authority said arrivals would remain tightly controlled due to the ongoing security situation. Under the current framework, up to two narrow-body aircraft or one wide-body plane will be permitted to land each hour, subject to security assessments.
El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, said it would continue to operate in accordance with government guidelines, with real-time updates continually published on the El Al website and its social media pages. Ticket sales for new El Al flights have been suspended until March 21, with airlines prioritising passengers whose journeys were cancelled during the airspace closure.
The Israeli government also announced plans to gradually resume outbound flights from Sunday. Initially, departures are expected to be limited to roughly one flight per hour, according to Channel 12, with a maximum of 50 passengers per plane, and travellers will be required to check in early and travel with hand luggage only.
Schedule for El Al recovery flights[Missing Credit]
Meanwhile, the flight chartered by the UK government to evacuate stranded Britons from the region, which had been due to depart from Oman on Wednesday night, never took off.
A British passenger told Sky News that the check-in process for the flight took four hours, followed by another one-and-a-half hour wait inside the plane on the tarmac.
“No consular staff were present airside. They just left us,” the passenger said. “People started getting very agitated, banging windows, panic attacks. There are dozens and dozens of vulnerable people, young children and families.” He added that the stress this has caused these vulnerable people “is incredibly serious.”
After apparently being told that the pilot needed rest, the passengers were taken off the plane and then back to a hotel.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told Sky that the flight had not been able to depart from Oman “due to technical issues. The flight is now expected to depart later today.”
