Drama at Ben Gurion Airport: Flights for which tickets have already been sold may be cancelled
Foreign airlines operating special charter flights for the holiday are still awaiting critical approvals from the Israel Airports Authority, while preparations in transit countries are stalled and passengers fear losing thousands of dollars.
Preparations for the major flight operation to Uman ahead of Rosh Hashanah have reached a critical stage, as dozens of charter flights for which tickets have already been sold have yet to receive the necessary takeoff and landing permits at Ben Gurion Airport. The delay leaves thousands of passengers in uncertainty and raises concerns that some flights will be cancelled very close to their departure time.
The first passengers are expected to begin their journey as early as this coming Sunday. The flights are not intended to land in Ukraine, whose skies remain closed due to the war, but rather at airports in Romania and Poland. From there, the pilgrims are supposed to continue to Uman by land.
The peak load for departures from Israel is expected between September 7 and September 10, while return flights are scheduled mainly between September 14 and September 16. According to sources familiar with the details, the foreign airlines Albastar, HiSky, and FlyOne are still awaiting approvals for some of the charter flights they are supposed to operate.
The lack of an approved flight schedule does not only affect operations at Ben Gurion Airport. Authorities in the transit countries are also struggling to complete preparations for receiving the passengers. In Romania and Ukraine, precise details regarding landing times and passenger volume are needed to plan the transport system, reinforce border crossings, and allocate the necessary security forces. As long as the flight dates are not final, preparations in these countries also remain stalled.
The travel industry fears significant financial damage to passengers. Many of them have already spent thousands of dollars on flight tickets, accommodation, and other services in Uman and neighboring countries. In the event of a cancellation, they may lose some of the amounts paid in advance, in addition to the disruption of their travel plans for Rosh Hashanah.
Tension is also rising due to the fact that this is an event that takes place on known and fixed dates every year. Passengers and industry officials believe that it would have been possible to prepare for the unusual load earlier and avoid a situation where critical decisions are made just days before the flights begin.
Following the delays, passengers turned to the chairman of the Breslov Union in Uman, Rabbi Nathan Ben Nun, and asked him to act before the Israel Airports Authority to promote a quick solution. The foreign airlines, for their part, clarified that without operational certainty from the authorities in Israel, they might not carry out some of the flights.
Now the passengers are waiting for a decision that will allow the travel operation to be completed as planned. If the approvals are not received quickly, the fear is that the delay will turn into a wave of cancellations that will affect thousands of pilgrims just before their departure to Uman.
