Transportation Minister Miri Regev ordered that no additional US refueling aircraft land at Ben Gurion Airport beyond the 20 already there, overriding the original commitment to send more, in order to prevent cancellations of commercial flights. The incoming planes, which already landed, arrived from Gulf states that are under Iranian attacks, according to her statement.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev on Tuesday clarified that the US aerial refueling fleet at Ben Gurion Airport is capped at 20 aircraft, and that any further tankers will be sent to Israeli Air Force bases instead — a reversal of what she said was the original agreement allowing more to land. The directive, she stated, aims to protect the civilian flight schedule during the peak summer travel season.
This is the latest move in an escalating standoff over the US military's use of the civilian airport. As The Zioneer reported earlier Tuesday, Washington had frozen a planned withdrawal of its tankers and was keeping 33 aircraft on the ground, prompting aviation officials to warn of up to 50,000 summer ticket cancellations. The Defense Ministry has been asked by the Transportation Ministry to find alternative parking for the tankers at military facilities.
Regev also noted that the additional tankers that did land at Ben Gurion came from Gulf states that are themselves under Iranian attack amidst the ongoing US-led campaign against Iran. The minister has been publicly critical of the deployment, previously saying it forces tourists off planes while the US is not striking Iran.
What remains unconfirmed is whether the Israel Airports Authority or the Israel Defense Forces have accepted Regev's new directive, and whether the Defense Ministry will relocate the existing US planes to air bases. The number of additional tankers that already landed from the Gulf was not specified in the statement.
4 developments
- DevelopingBen Gurion Airport bars additional US refueling aircraft after four land overnight, report says
- DevelopingAdditional US refueling tankers land at Ben Gurion Airport from the Gulf
- DevelopingRegev: Ben Gurion operating normally, US refuelers not returning amid evacuation
- ConfirmedTransport Ministry chief: Regev ordered no harm to Ben Gurion flights, security ministry must find solution for US tankers
Source and signal
- Internal intake