In any attack on Israel, be it by Iran or Hezbollah, Ben Gurion Airport is considered a potential target.
Lod Airport is a national symbol and the main gateway to Israel, through which nearly 60,000 people travel every day – even now that dozens of foreign airlines have canceled or suspended their flights to Israel.
The fact that US Air Force transport planes with ammunition land at the civilian airport and that the area between Yehud and Lod and Highway 40 is home to Israel Aerospace Industries’ headquarters and some of its production facilities makes the region a prominent target in the intelligence files of countries and terrorist organizations.
The Air Force does not disclose the locations of the Iron Dome batteries, but interceptor missiles have frequently been observed around Ben Gurion Airport. Even when the airport was temporarily closed due to rocket fire, it was shut down for a short time to clear interceptor debris from the runways to prevent damage to aircraft engines and tires.
There are currently no plans to close the airport, but in case of continued attacks, the Silver Wings contingency plan will come into effect and operations at Ben Gurion Airport will be relocated to Ramon Airport near Eilat.
Although some rockets have been fired at Ramon airport by Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen since the war began, and remnants of rockets and drones have been found nearby – mostly after interceptions – Ramon is considered to be far more secure in threat than Ben-Gurion. This is because the Israeli army has destroyed most of Hamas’ long-range rockets and Ramon is protected by the Iron Dome in Eilat and the Arrow missile defense system in the south.
Major operations in the crisis
In the event of the procedure being activated, all parties will have 12 hours to shift operations south. While only a few daily flights by Arkia and Israir currently operate from Ramon Airport, the airport authority and airlines have compiled lists of employees who will be transferred to Ramon to reinforce existing staff. The goal is to maintain air connectivity between Israel and the world even during a large-scale attack, in particular to accommodate international flights by Israeli airlines instead of diverting them to Cyprus, as has been done in the past.
When Ramon Airport was built, it was decided to extend the runways to 3.6 kilometers and to expand the parking areas to accommodate larger passenger aircraft that do not normally land there, such as Boeing 787, 777 and Airbus A350. The relatively extensive infrastructure of Ramon Airport allows it to handle transatlantic flights to the United States or flights to the East.
In order to accommodate aircraft from all Israeli airlines if necessary, Ramon Airport has parking spaces for around 60 passenger aircraft. In the event of a major attack, the airport should also be able to handle urgent cargo flights, including arms deliveries or humanitarian aid.
Unlike Ben Gurion Airport, which is designed to handle about 30 million passengers annually, Ramon Airport is much smaller and built to handle 1.8 million passengers annually.
The airport does not have jetways for direct boarding and uses stair vehicles, which can be challenging for passengers with reduced mobility, although special elevators are available. Due to its size, the airport can only handle around ten flights at a time and will naturally handle fewer flights in the event of a large-scale attack.
The considerable distance of Ramon Airport from the central region – three hours by car or bus – poses a challenge and requires an expansion of public transport to and from the airport. Normally, the airport is so isolated from the transport network that passengers must first take a bus to Eilat and then change from there to a bus heading north.
The airport authority and the Ministry of Transport plan to increase public transport to Ramon Airport in case of emergency. Transport Minister Miri Regev confirmed that the airport is prepared for a possible attack.
However, during Operation Protective Edge, when Ben Gurion Airport was closed due to rocket attacks and flights were diverted to Israel’s Ovda base, these plans failed and thousands of Israelis struggled to get to or from the airport. Currently, the Ministry of Transport is able to operate shuttle services to and from Ramon Airport from Beersheba Central Station.
During Operation Protective Edge, Ben Gurion Airport was virtually closed due to decisions by European and US aviation authorities banning flights to Israel for safety reasons for aircraft and crew. This time, fewer foreign airlines are flying to Israel, and a significant amount of air traffic from Turkey is missing. However, the number of airlines from the Persian Gulf that continue to operate flights to Israel has increased, and landing in Eilat can shorten their routes to Israel.
Closing Ben Gurion Airport would bring domestic air traffic in Israel to a halt, particularly the main route from Eilat to Ben Gurion. This would make travel difficult for Eilat residents who need medical care in the center of the country or who are traveling for business.
During Operation Protective Edge, flights from Eilat were diverted to Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv. However, due to the strategic shortsightedness of the Ministry of Transport under Israel Katz, Sde Dov was closed, leaving Ben-Gurion with no nearby alternative.
