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Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport opened to limited civilian flights on Thursday after five days of war as the first repatriation flights began to bring home the tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad landed.
Also Thursday the government announced that outgoing flights would gradually start on Sunday.
At 6:05 a.m., a plane operated by national carrier El Al touched down from Athens at the airport, the country’s main international gateway. Minutes later, a flight by Israeli charter carrier Israir landed from Rome and was expected to be followed by other flights by local carriers Arkia and Haifa Air later in the day.
The flights are to help an estimated 100,000 Israelis who have been unable to return home since Israel shuttered its airspace on Saturday as it began a joint air assault with the US on Iran. The Iranians have responded with ballistic missile fire at Israel and Middle East countries that host US bases.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev spoke over the radio with the pilot of the El Al plane, telling him, “We wish you a safe landing and with God’s help, we will bring all the Israelis home.”
As the flight was preparing to take off, the pilot told passengers that it would be the first repatriation flight to land in Tel Aviv, saying, “This is a significant and moving moment for all of us, after five days during which the country’s skies were closed to commercial flights. We are proud to bring you back to Israel.”
El Al said in a statement that the flight was made after “extensive operational preparations carried out in recent days by the company.”
Landings were briefly halted Thursday morning amid an Iranian missile attack that targeted central Israel. One missile struck an open area in a central town without causing injuries, according to rescue forces.
More El Al flights during the day were expected from Milan, Tbilisi, Budapest, Larnaca, Paris, Munich, London, and Geneva.
Under the current framework, two narrow-body jets or one wide-body jet are permitted to land every hour, subject to security developments and assessments from security services and the IDF Home Front.
Authorities are aiming to have 17 flights land on Thursday, and double that volume on Friday, Channel 12 reported. The Friday flights will include planes from North America.
The Israel Airports Authority has previously said that passengers landing at Ben Gurion Airport will be required to leave the terminal area as quickly as possible, after passing through security controls and once they pick up their luggage. A bus and Israel Railways transportation system will be in place to help those arriving leave the airport swiftly amid concerns of Iranian missile attacks.
In the coming days, El Al plans to pick up Israelis from a total of 22 destinations, including New York, Miami, and Los Angeles in the US, and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand.
The Ynet outlet reported there will also be repatriation flights over the weekend, but El Al will not fly on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which begins at sundown Friday and ends 25 hours later on Saturday evening.
El Al said in a statement that it asked authorities coordinating the repatriation flights to assign it flight times before and after Shabbat “in a way that will allow the company to operate an air train accordingly, using its entire fleet of aircraft.”
Regev also announced Thursday that Israel is preparing to reopen the country’s airspace for outbound flights from Sunday.
“After assessing the situation, we have made the decision to open the skies starting Sunday for outbound flights, subject to security developments,” Regev said in a statement. “We will update throughout the day on the outline.”
Outgoing flights on Sunday, if approved, will be at a rate of just one an hour, Channel 12 reported without citing sources. Only 50 passengers will be permitted on each plane, and travelers will not be permitted to check in luggage for the cargo hold. Flyers will have to use the early check-in program and arrive at the airport an hour and a half before the flight. Only passengers will be permitted to enter the terminal building. Outbound flights will be linked to the number of repatriation flights that arrive.
El Al flight ticket sales have been halted until March 21 to allow customers whose flights were canceled to be assigned to repatriation flights as the airspace reopens. Israir has halted ticket sales until March 18.
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