Israel’s main airport faces the threat of a new transportation crisis. Due to the resumption of military escalation between the US and Iran, Washington has suspended the withdrawal of tanker aircraft from Ben Gurion. If the previously agreed schedule is not restored, the airport may run out of parking spaces for passenger liners as early as July 23.
The Israel Airports Authority warns: in such a case, about ten flights will have to be canceled daily. In terms of passengers, this means approximately 50,000 canceled airline tickets each month.
The situation is especially dangerous because the crisis is unfolding at the height of the summer season, when Ben Gurion is supposed to serve from 80,000 to 94,000 passengers a day.
Four planes returned, eight refused to withdraw
The new escalation became known on July 14, 2026.
The US was supposed to withdraw another eight tanker aircraft from Ben Gurion by the end of the week. This stage was part of an agreement reached after several months of pressure from the Israeli Ministry of Transport and the Airports Authority.
However, due to the resumption of hostilities against Iran, the American command suspended the withdrawal of aviation.
Moreover, four tankers that had previously left the airport returned to Ben Gurion.
The Israel Airports Authority stated that such a change of plans has “immediate and serious operational significance.” If American aviation does not start freeing up parking spaces, starting from July 23, there will be a significant shortage of spaces for civilian aircraft at the airport.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev ordered not to allow the landing of additional American tankers without prior coordination.
Thus, the conflict between Israeli civilian agencies and the American military has reached a new level. Israel does not refuse strategic cooperation with the US but demands that military needs do not paralyze the country’s civil aviation.
The problem is not only in the number of aircraft.
Tankers are significantly larger than many passenger planes, require larger parking spaces, special ground services, security, fuel, and separate procedures for departure. Their landing or urgent takeoff during peak hours forces dispatchers to rearrange the civilian schedule.
In March or May, such an operation could delay other flights by about half an hour. In July and August, when planes take off and land almost continuously, one such disruption can cause a multi-hour chain of delays affecting hundreds of flights.
From the first tankers to an actual military base
American planes began arriving at Ben Gurion even before the start of the large-scale war with Iran.
On February 23, 2026, American tanker aircraft and C-17 military transport planes were spotted at Israel’s main civilian airport. By that time, military aviation observers had counted more than 85 tankers and over 170 transport aircraft sent by the US to the Middle East region since mid-February.
On the night of February 27, at least nine more American tankers arrived at Ben Gurion. Simultaneously, American F-22 fighters and accompanying aircraft were stationed at the Ovda airbase.
On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran.
Aerial tankers became one of the most important elements of the campaign. They allowed American and Israeli fighters and bombers to stay in the air longer and strike targets deep within Iranian territory.
After the start of the war, Israel’s airspace was closed. On March 2, Ben Gurion began gradually resuming operations, initially in a very limited format and mainly for Israeli airlines.
However, American tankers did not disappear from the airport.
According to satellite images studied by the Financial Times, there were about 36 military tanker aircraft at Ben Gurion in early March.
After the ceasefire, which came into effect on April 8, their number did not decrease but increased to about 47.
By mid-May, there were already at least 52 American military aircraft at the airport. The reasons for placing such a large group specifically at Israel’s main civilian airport, rather than at military bases, were not fully explained officially.
By this time, Ben Gurion had effectively ceased to cope simultaneously with civilian and military tasks.
The head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, Shmuel Zakai, stated that Ben Gurion had turned into an American military airfield with limited civilian activity.
The Director General of the Airports Authority, Sharon Kedmi, reported on May 28 that the airport was using only about one-third of its operational capacity. According to him, approximately 70% of Ben Gurion’s activities were limited due to the space and resources occupied by American aviation.
In two months, the Airports Authority lost about 700 million shekels. If the situation continued as it was, losses could grow to several billion.
The passenger traffic forecast for 2026 had to be reduced from 18 million to 15 million people. Up to three million passengers risked facing cancellations or being unable to purchase tickets.
Many El Al, Arkia, and Israir planes had to be kept outside Israel. This meant additional expenses for parking, crews, and maintenance, as well as reducing the number of flights Israeli companies could perform daily.
NAnews — Israel News notes that it’s not just about inconveniences for tourists. For Israel, which effectively has one main international aviation hub, the overload of Ben Gurion quickly turns into a national economic and transportation problem.
Foreign carriers also received another reason not to return to Israel. The reduction in supply amid high demand created conditions for further increases in ticket prices.
June crisis: 2.4 million trips were at risk
By mid-June, the number of American planes reached maximum levels.
According to Miri Regev, there were about 72 American tankers and military transport aircraft at Ben Gurion. The Airports Authority cited the figure of 74 aircraft.
Another 26 American machines were stationed at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, occupying about 90% of the available parking spaces there. Meanwhile, according to Israeli officials, at that time, not a single American tanker was stationed at Israeli Air Force bases.
On June 10, Miri Regev publicly criticized the situation, stating that if US President Donald Trump does not intend to continue the war against Iran, American planes should vacate Ben Gurion.
On June 14, the minister sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
She demanded the relocation of at least 30 American aircraft to Israeli Air Force bases or outside the country. Otherwise, Regev warned, about 2.4 million tickets sold for the summer months and the period of the autumn Jewish holidays would be at risk of cancellation.
This figure included trips of Hasidim to Uman for Rosh Hashanah.
The critical date was announced as June 16, 2026.
It is in mid-June that the Airports Authority allocates summer slots to airlines — the time during which a carrier has the right to land or take off a plane.
If an airline does not receive the necessary slot, it is forced to cancel the flight. At the same time, Israeli law allows the carrier not to pay standard compensation if the passenger was warned of the cancellation at least 14 days in advance.
Therefore, on June 16, foreign companies could begin to massively cancel July flights without incurring additional compensation costs.
Miri Regev warned of direct damage in billions of shekels to airlines, the tourism industry, and Israel’s economy. She also noted that mass cancellations would harm the country’s reputation as an aviation destination and could deter carriers just beginning to return after the April ceasefire.
At the last moment, Israel and the US managed to find a temporary solution.
On June 16, Israeli media reported that in the coming days, 20 planes would be transferred to Israeli Air Force bases, and another 17 machines would leave Ben Gurion by the end of the month. At the time of publication, there was no official confirmation of the full schedule.
By June 24, about 20 American planes had indeed been withdrawn.
But this was still not enough. Of the 99 parking spaces intended for civilian passenger aircraft, only 65 remained free.
For normal operations in July, at least 80 parking spaces were required, and for the August peak — all 99.
Sharon Kedmi warned that without freeing up at least 15 more spaces, cancellations could affect about 100,000 passengers. In June, Ben Gurion served more than 65,000 people a day, while in August, between 70,000 and 100,000 passengers were expected daily.
By early July, the situation began to improve.
On July 1, Lufthansa and ITA Airways resumed flights to Israel. Austrian Airlines had previously returned, and Air Europa restored service to Madrid. The Ministry of Transport announced an agreement to accelerate the withdrawal of American aviation: about 30 planes were to be moved in the first stage and another 20 later.
However, the achieved normalization proved to be unstable.
On July 7, 2026, the US resumed strikes on Iran after attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The American command announced the targeting of more than 80 targets, including ships and objects of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran responded with strikes on American targets in the Persian Gulf countries.
On July 13, Donald Trump officially notified the US Congress that hostilities had resumed on July 7.
Amid this escalation, the American military decided to keep the tankers in close proximity to the operations zone again. That is why the previously agreed withdrawal of eight planes was stopped, and four machines returned to Ben Gurion.
Now the consequences of the military decision may become noticeable as early as July 23.
By the end of the month, passenger traffic is expected to exceed 80,000 people almost every weekday.
On July 16, about 91,000 passengers were forecasted.
On July 26 — about 90,000.
The maximum load is expected on July 30: approximately 94,000 passengers and about 560 takeoffs, landings, and other aviation operations.
In total, about 2.3 million passengers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion in July, which is approximately 25% more than in July 2025.
Therefore, even the daily cancellation of ten flights will have a cumulative effect. Over the month, this is about 300 flights and 50,000 unrealized flights.
The main question now is whether Israel and the US can find alternative places for the tankers — at military bases or outside the country — without weakening American capabilities in the war against Iran.
NAnews — Israel News emphasizes: the history of American tankers has shown how closely Israel’s security is now linked to the daily lives of citizens.
The decision made by the American military command due to attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on Iran may determine in a few days whether tens of thousands of Israelis can go on vacation, return home, or meet with relatives.
Ben Gurion has simultaneously become an international airport, a logistics center for war, and one of the most vulnerable points of the Israeli economy. As long as American tankers remain on its parking spaces, each new turn of the conflict with Iran will directly affect passengers, airlines, the tourism industry, and ticket prices.