Israel reaches understandings with US to speed up evacuation of military aircraft from Ben Gurion: Reports

Israel has reached understandings with the US military to accelerate the evacuation of American military aircraft stationed at Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli media reported Friday.

The country’s Transportation Ministry made a statement confirming the development early Friday, ending “weeks of uncertainty” that had affected Israel’s aviation sector, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The understanding is expected to remove the remaining concerns over the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of airline tickets during the summer travel season, after the risk of canceling more than 2.4 million tickets had already been averted about a week and a half ago, the report said.

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Channel 12 reported that the US has committed to removing 20 aerial refueling aircraft from Ben Gurion Airport by next Tuesday following pressure from Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

The issue has fueled growing debate in Israel over the extensive US military presence at Ben Gurion Airport, which has served as a major hub for dozens of US military refueling and transport aircraft since the outbreak of the war with Iran.

The deployment of US military aircraft at Israel’s main international airport — what some described as a US military base — has drawn criticism from political figures and the aviation sector, amid warnings that it has affected the airport’s operational capacity and civilian air traffic, causing economic losses and disruptions to flight schedules.

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