Ben Gurion Airport Delays Surge as Ten More US Refueling Aircraft Arrive

More than 30 United States Air Force refueling aircraft are currently parked at Ben Gurion Airport, and an additional ten are expected to land in the coming days. Airport officials warn that the concentration of these tankers creates an operational “domino effect,” worsening the already heavy summer‑season traffic.

During the week, average flight delays reached about 65 minutes at Terminal 3 and 61 minutes at Terminal 1, with baggage claim waits exceeding two hours for many passengers. On Thursday alone, over 90,000 travelers passed through the airport. Flights to Berlin, Heraklion and Corfu experienced average delays of 97–105 minutes.

Compounding the congestion, the airport faced two external air‑traffic disruptions: a loss of communication with a Greek radar installation and a technical fault in Eurocontrol’s Brussels system, both of which added to the schedule overruns.