Limited number of capacity capped flights permitted from Tel Aviv

El Al is to operate flights with a capacity cap of 50 passengers from Tel Aviv amid the war on Iran.

The Israeli flag carrier noted last night (Monday) that a ”small number” of flights would operate to London, Paris, Rome, Athens, New York and Los Angeles from Ben Gurion Airport.

The revival of flights from the country’s main international gateway airport was confirmed by Israel’s transport ministry, with a restriction of 15 a day.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice to say: “We understand operations are currently approved for the following airlines: El Al, Israir, Arkia, and Air Haifa, and that the maximum number of passengers permitted on each flight remains limited to meet Israel Home Front Command regulations.

“Commercial airline options are subject to change at short notice, including should the security situation deteriorate and the Israeli government deem it too dangerous for commercial air travel in and out of the country.”

El Al said: “Following the Ministry of Transportation’s decision that led to a dramatic reduction in aviation activity - limiting our outbound flights to 15 per day and capping each departure flight at 50 passengers - we are updating that EL AL will operate a small number of flights to several key destinations.

“Given the limited number of seats, passenger allocation will be carried out according to flight assignment prioritisation based on the original flight date, with priority given to exceptional humanitarian and medical cases.

“We emphasise that the strict limitations on operations at Ben Gurion Airport mean that the airline has transitioned to essential flight activity only, in order to maintain Israel’s air bridge to and from the world.

“All decisions were made based on safety and operational considerations. Due to the reduced operations, seat availability on outbound flights is expected to decrease to 5% of our routine activity.”

The FCDO added: “Other commercial travel options are still available through Jordan and Egypt. For those eligible to travel to Egypt via Taba border crossing, transport services continue to operate from major cities to Eilat.”