Ben Gurion Airport: 47 Airlines and a 24% Jump in Delays

Ben Gurion Airport recorded an exceptionally busy week, with 31% more takeoffs than the weekly average over the last three months and 24% more delays than the weekly average during this period. The congestion is reflected on the ground, as hundreds of flights departed with significant delays and long queues were recorded at check-in counters, security checkpoints, and baggage carousels, where passengers reported waiting up to two and a half hours for baggage collection last Friday.

In the last week, 1,847 flights took off from Ben Gurion Airport, and only 9.8% of them departed on time or with a delay of up to 15 minutes. The average delay for takeoffs from Terminal 3 was 69 minutes, and from Terminal 1 it was 66 minutes.

Leading Delay Records

The record for delays was set by Red Wings, which, despite operating only 17 flights, had an average delay of 207 minutes. Following it is Blue Bird Airways (189 takeoffs, 128-minute average delay) and TUS (69 takeoffs, 114-minute average delay). The companies showing the lowest average delays are those operating flights from east of Israel: Flydubai (22 minutes), Azerbaijan Airlines (28 minutes), and Emirates (29 minutes).

Causes of Congestion

The gap between short-haul and long-haul destinations has become particularly noticeable. All flights are affected by the congestion at Ben Gurion Airport and the presence of American refuelers, which cause widespread disruptions in takeoff and landing slots. Furthermore, flights departing north to Greece, Cyprus, and nearby Europe are affected by congestion in European airspace, often leading to restrictions on flights arriving from Israel. According to the Israel Airports Authority, this funnels flights into narrow time windows, increasing the load on ground systems.

Infrastructure shortages, limited parking, and staffing issues are the primary obstacles. The Israel Airports Authority notes that it is difficult to estimate staffing needs in advance due to flight delays caused by military refuelers.

Official Response

The Ministry of Transport maintains that this is a routine summer. Minister of Transport Miri Regev prides herself on the fact that, despite the security situation, the airport continues to operate at full capacity. The ministry states that they have worked to prevent mass cancellations by moving military refuelers to IDF bases, and that current delays are the result of standard summer traffic and European airspace limitations.