200,000 Israelis stranded abroad; airline heads warn government rescue plan falls short

 

Around 200,000 Israelis are currently estimated to be stranded overseas amid the ongoing flight shutdown due to the conflict between Israel and Iran, prompting criticism from the heads of the Israir and Arkia airlines that the government’s rescue plan is insufficient and could take weeks to bring everyone home.

Rescue flights are not expected to begin arriving before Thursday at the earliest.

Meanwhile, under a new plan implemented by the Transportation Ministry and the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, Israelis will be prohibited from flying out of the country for the time being, according to a report from The Marker.

The directive is aimed at preventing large crowds at Ben Gurion Airport — a major civilian target — and therefore reducing the risk of mass casualties in the event of further Iranian attacks.

Israelis have been told by the National Security Council not to make their way back to Israel over land via border crossings from Egypt and Jordan because of security concerns. Some non-Israeli citizens have been leaving Israel via the crossings.

The heads of Israeli airlines said it could take weeks to bring everyone home.

“The operation to return Israeli citizens residing abroad may begin toward the end of the week, and perhaps not until the beginning of next week,” said Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israir, which has canceled all flights from and to Tel Aviv through June 30 as Israeli airspace remains closed until further notice.

“We are still studying the enemy, the patterns, to understand the ritual of the threats,” he said.

Israir noted that once local authorities and the defense establishment approve the launch of rescue flights, they can be booked through the company’s website. Flight ticket prices for rescue flights will be set at a fixed price for each hub point, which have not yet been determined.

Describing what he said was an “optimistic” scenario, Sirkis said, “The emerging outline will allow for only two flights per hour, during all hours of the day, subject to the security situation.”

Sirkis added, “The flights will only be operated for returning Israelis and Israelis [or any other passengers] will not be allowed to leave the country at this stage.”

Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz lamented that the outline currently being formulated for rescue flights will be “only two landings per hour, and only during the day, which is far from providing a real solution to the situation.”

“At this rate, the return of all Israelis could take many weeks and even longer,” he said.

Berlowitz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, and the defense establishment to “update [the flight plan] immediately and enable a broad and significant air bridge back to Israel.”

“I receive hundreds of inquiries a day – from individuals, reserve soldiers, doctors and medical teams, organized groups, some of the largest companies in the economy, parents of small children, patients waiting for treatment, and people who are financially drained due to extended stays in hotels,” he said.

“The government must understand that the current aviation crisis is a national crisis,” Berlowitz declared.

The military said Monday that the responsibility for returning Israeli citizens who are stranded overseas “lies with the Transportation Ministry.”

“The IDF will be able to provide assistance to the Transportation Ministry as needed, in accordance with the requests received,” it added.
When Iran’s assault began on Friday after Israel began striking Iranian nuclear and military targets, Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia and Israir moved their fleets out of the country to prevent them from being targeted in an Iranian attack.

Videos circulated on social media showed a lineup of grounded Israeli airplanes at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus.

Late on Saturday, Shmuel Zakai, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, estimated that it would take weeks before all the Israelis stranded abroad would be able to fly home

Authorities closed Israel’s airspace early on Friday as the army carried out initial waves of strikes against Iran and its nuclear program.

Ben Gurion Airport has since been closed to all arrivals and departures and has remained so “until further notice.”

Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and ballistic missile factories overnight Thursday-Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran, which vows to destroy Israel, from attaining nuclear weapons. In response, Iran has launched massive deadly barrages totaling hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel from Friday night into early Monday morning.

In addition to Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria have periodically closed their airspaces, with hundreds of flights forced to turn back or reroute.