Transportation Minister Miri Regev instructed the chairman and CEO of the Israel Airports Authority not to delay flights and to maintain the summer flight schedule, citing solutions expected in the coming days pending approval of an agreement on Friday and removal of US refueling aircraft within 72 hours, according to Din Fisher (N12).
Transportation Minister Miri Regev ordered the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) not to cancel summer flights and to maintain the published schedule, a directive reported Monday by N12's Din Fisher.
The order came as a solution to the Ben Gurion fuel-truck shortage appeared to be taking shape. The IAA was told to keep the summer timetable pending final approval of an agreement expected on Friday, after which US refueling aircraft would be removed from the civilian airport within 72 hours.
The Ben Gurion fuel crisis had escalated over the past week, with Regev warning on Sunday that airlines would be forced to cancel flights beginning Tuesday due to a shortage of refueling trucks — only 72 operational vehicles remained at the time. Earlier, the National Security Council director had been handling the issue and assured that no commercial flight would be canceled.
As The Zioneer first reported, the congestion at Ben Gurion stems from a build-up of US aerial-refueling aircraft stationed there in recent months. On Sunday, the IAF began moving about half of those planes to its own airbases to reduce the risk of cancellations.
The minister's Monday directive effectively freezes any cancellation decisions in the short term, pending the formalization of the US aircraft relocation agreement. The open question remains whether the agreement will be finalized as scheduled on Friday.
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