Optimism at Ben Gurion Airport: 20 US aircraft have already been evacuated as of Thursday evening, with approximately 12 more set to depart by the end of the month, according to reports.
Tonight's report from Ben Gurion Airport — 20 US aircraft evacuated as of Thursday evening, with 12 more expected to depart by month's end — represents the latest, and most optimistic, milestone in a week of accelerating reductions in the American military footprint at the civilian airport.
Just three days earlier, on Mon Jun 22 at 11:05 Jerusalem time, The Zioneer reported that 28 refueling aircraft had already been evacuated and that Israel had requested the removal of roughly 20 additional planes. That bulletin itself updated our earlier Mon 11:05 story, which had cited the airport union chief alleging that only about 10 US fuel planes had left and that 500 flights were at risk. Over the subsequent 72 hours, however, the evacuation pace accelerated sharply: on Thu Jun 25 at 07:56 Jerusalem, we reported that 15 refuelers had departed Ben Gurion for regional bases including Al Udeid in Qatar. Tonight's count of 20 evacuated, plus 12 more scheduled, surpasses either of those prior totals and indicates the process is moving faster than the union's pessimistic assessment.
Background to the congestion crisis dates back weeks. As The Zioneer reported on Tue Jun 16 09:53 Jerusalem, Israeli leadership decided to move roughly 20 aircraft from Ben Gurion to IAF bases to free parking space for summer commercial flights — a step prompted by a fuel-truck shortage first flagged on Wed Jun 17 11:01 Jerusalem, when airport officials warned 500 flights faced cancellation if 15 additional fuel tankers were not deployed. Satellite imagery from Fri Jun 5 17:59 had previously counted 63 US transport planes on the tarmac, underscoring the scale of the logjam.
What remains open: tonight's bulletin frames the 12 additional departures as scheduled by month's end but offers no independent confirmation from US military or Israeli civil aviation authorities. The broader fuel-truck shortage has not been reported as resolved, and union warnings about summer flight disruptions may resurface if the remaining aircraft are not moved on the projected timeline.
4 developments
- DevelopingOver a third of US aircraft have departed Ben Gurion Airport
- Developing15 US refueling aircraft leave Ben Gurion, transfer to regional bases
- StrongUS military to relocate ~20% of refueling aircraft from Ben Gurion Airport ahead of Iran deal
- DevelopingUS refueler departs Ben Gurion Airport as fuel crisis persists
Source and signal
- Internal intake