Ben Gurion Airport: About 98,000 passengers expected today
Following last week's chaos and forecasts of over 100,000 daily passengers, operations at Ben Gurion Airport are relatively calm today. The last 24 hours have seen an improvement in flight departure and arrival times.
Despite concerns and the backdrop of last week's chaos, the last 24 hours at Ben Gurion Airport have been relatively quiet. Contrary to earlier expectations for August 27, when a surge of over 100,000 passengers was anticipated, today's volume is expected to reach about 98,000, consistent with yesterday's figures.
Last Sunday, approximately 101,000 passengers passed through the airport without any disruptions or delays unusual for the season. This comes despite the Ben Gurion Airport workers' committee claiming a shortage of 400-500 employees following last week's turmoil and petitioning the labor court to officially shorten shifts. For comparison, about 107,000 passengers passed through the airport on the previous Thursday.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that even during this "quiet" period, operational loads remain significant. According to the airport's load meter, the average departure delay over the past week stood at 89 minutes, with arrivals delayed by 73 minutes. Only 7.7% of departures left on time. However, the situation has improved over the last 24 hours, with average delays for departures and arrivals dropping to 28 and 24 minutes, respectively. Additionally, more than half of all departures left on time.
