The director-general of the Israel Airports Authority warned Tuesday that the refusal to allow additional US refueling aircraft to land at Ben Gurion Airport has immediate operational consequences, putting 50,000 flight tickets at risk through the end of July. The Transport Ministry conveyed that Minister Miri Regev will not authorize additional US refuelers, stating that civilians cannot be harmed and the Defense Ministry must find solutions.
The fuel-truck congestion crisis at Ben Gurion Airport escalated sharply Tuesday morning when Transportation Minister Miri Regev refused to allow additional US refueling aircraft to land, according to a letter from Israel Airports Authority Director-General Sharon Kedmi reported by Din Fisher (N12). Kedmi warned that the refusal has "immediate and severe operational consequences," putting 50,000 passenger tickets at risk of cancellation through the end of July. The Transport Ministry conveyed that Minister Regev will not authorize additional US refuelers, stating: "Civilians cannot be harmed, the Defense Ministry must find solutions."
The development follows a sequence of events reported by The Zioneer since Tuesday. Initial reports at 10:09 indicated the US had frozen the evacuation of fuel trucks from Ben Gurion, reviving cancellation fears. Within the same minute, the IAA director general warned specifically of 50,000 ticket cancellations through July. Shortly after, the thread confirmed that Regev was blocking additional US refuelers from landing — a stance now formalized in Kedmi's letter. The crisis has been building for weeks: on June 16, Kedmi warned 100,000 July passenger tickets faced possible cancellation, and on June 11 he said one in four summer passengers risked cancellation notices.
As The Zioneer reported in earlier bulletins, the shortage stems from US military refueling aircraft occupying space needed for commercial fuel trucks. Minister Regev had previously ordered the IAA not to cancel flights on June 15, citing a pending solution involving the removal of US aircraft within 72 hours. However, that timeline was overtaken by the US freeze on evacuating the fuel trucks and the current impasse. The Defense Ministry has not yet publicly responded to the Transport Ministry's demand.
What remains open is the actual resolution path: the Transport Ministry has placed the onus on the Defense Ministry to find solutions, but no response from that ministry has been reported. The US freeze on evacuating fuel trucks — reported in the first version of this bulletin — also remained in effect as of this morning, further complicating any near-term resolution.
5 developments
- DevelopingAirport chief warns 100,000 July passenger tickets at risk of cancellation
- DevelopingBen Gurion Airport warns: 500 flights at risk of cancellation unless 15 fuel trucks are added
- DevelopingRegev: Ben Gurion operating normally, US refuelers not returning amid evacuation
- StrongUS pledges to remove ~20 refueling aircraft from Ben Gurion by Tuesday, Regev says
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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