Scrambling to flee as Israel reopens airport after week-long lockdown

Thousands scrambled to flee Israel on Monday after the government abruptly lifted a week-long ban on outbound flights, which had barred both citizens and foreigners from leaving the country. The first available commercial flight sold out immediately, as those desperate to escape sought refuge amid mounting fears of Iranian retaliation.

The panic follows Israel’s widely condemned, unprovoked airstrikes on multiple nuclear sites inside Iran, triggering warnings of regional escalation. Flights remain strictly limited, with only 50 passengers permitted per aircraft in an attempt to minimise security risks and reduce the vulnerability of Ben Gurion Airport.

According to the Times of Israel, Transportation Minister Miri Regev confirmed that local carriers would be permitted to operate a limited number of outbound flights. “We expect local airlines to operate 24 incoming repatriation flights arriving from international destinations on Monday, and on each outgoing flight, there will be a limit of 50 passengers leaving,” she said,” she said.

Read: 285% spike in Israelis leaving country

Regev added that a passenger purchasing a one-way ticket to leave Israel will only be able to buy a return flight ticket home for a date that is at least 30 days away from the departure date, according to the new outbound policy.

Since the closure of Israeli airspace on 13 June, following Israel’s assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, roughly 40,000 tourists and thousands of Israelis have been stranded inside the country.

Flight will be restricted to a single terminal with only 50 seats per aircraft. Passengers are expected to face intense bottlenecks and anxiety. Only ticket-holders were allowed into the terminal. The public was instructed to avoid arriving more than two hours before departure, with only quick drop-offs allowed for private vehicles.

With uncertainty over when, or if, regular air traffic will resume, many are opting for the quickest possible escape route: short-haul flights to Cyprus, Greece or other nearby destinations. Larnaca, just 40 minutes away by air, has emerged as a primary waypoint for those desperate to get out, with travellers hoping to continue their journeys onward to Europe or North America once outside Israel’s restricted airspace.