Ben Gurion Airport's Terminal 1, which was closed in March following the nosedive in the number of flights, will remain closed for the foreseeable future, the Israel Airports Authority has announced. Since being reopened in June 2017, before the current crisis, Terminal 1 had served Arkia Airlines Ltd. and Israir for domestic flights to Eilat and low-cost carriers for flights to Europe.
Ben Gurion Airport managing director Shmuel Zakai said, "Due to the forecast for the fall in the number of passengers for this year and 2021, Terminal 1 will stay closed and all international operations will be moved indefinitely to Terminal 3."
The fees charged to the airlines will be hiked in accordance. Landing fees for Terminal 3 are $26 per passenger, more than double the $11 landing fee for Terminal 1. Baggage handling fees of NIS 9 per passenger at Terminal 1 will be raised to NIS 20 per passenger at Terminal 3.
While some airports around the world are likely to cut their fees to help the ailing aviation industry, Ben Gurion airport has made it clear it has no such plans and has even raised the fees for low cost airlines like Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 12, 2020
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