One hour before Israel's High Court of Justice was due to start hearing the petition against the closure of Ben Gurion airport, foreign airlines operating to and from Israel were notified by the Israel Airports Authority that they could recommence flights to and from all destinations from midnight tonight (starting March 16).
Airlines will have to apply for takeoff and landing slots to prevent congestion at Ben Gurion airport. The airport is only being reopened for Israelis and foreign citizens will still be required to receive special permits to enter Israel.
Earlier today the Knesset Economics Committee lifted the limit to the number of destinations that airlines could fly to. The Civil Aviation Authority said that there were only 1,300 Israelis still requesting flights to return to the country.
The airport was closed on January 26 to all except passengers with special exemptions, due to fears that Israelis returning from abroad would bring vaccine resistant Covid mutations in to the country. The airport has been closed to all non-Israeli passport holders for a little over a year, due to the Covid pandemic, except for those with special exemptions to enter Israel.
At the moment only 6,000 passengers are scheduled to pass through Ben Gurion airport tomorrow - 4,000 leaving the country and 2,000 entering Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 15, 2021
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