Tel Aviv\u2019s Ben Gurion Airport, the country\u2019s main international gateway, has been closed for departures and arrivals since Saturday, when Israel and the US launched a major joint military strike on Iran. Since then, the Islamic Republic has been firing nonstop barrages of missiles and drones at Israel.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir have all suspended flight operations through March 3, amid expectations that Ben Gurion Airport will not reopen before at least Wednesday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers with very few options of travel. Meanwhile, many foreign carriers, including the Lufthansa Group, Wizz Air, and ITA Airways, canceled all flight services to and from Israel through March 7.<\/p>\n
Swiss-Israeli Elena Sale from Tel Aviv flew a week ago, with Lufthansa\u2019s Swiss Air Lines to Zurich, to attend her sister\u2019s wedding and was expected to return to the country Sunday.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to reschedule my flight back to Tel Aviv because they don\u2019t have any flights planned, as everything is canceled until March 7,\u201d Sale told The Times of Israel. \u201cRight now it\u2019s the weekend\u2026 but tomorrow I am expected to start working again.\u201d<\/p>\n \t \u201cI hope I can get back soon, but I don\u2019t know how long it will take\u2026 I\u2019m waiting until the airspace opens, and then I want to get a flight back as soon as possible,\u201d Sale said.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old said that, once Israel\u2019s airspace reopens, she is considering trying to get on an El Al flight, as Israeli airlines can be expected to be the first ones to fly again.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m also sure those flights will be pretty packed,\u201d said Sale.<\/p>\n An estimated 172,377 Israelis left the country over the past 30 days and have not yet returned, the Population and Immigration Authority said on Sunday. About 37,400 tourists are currently in Israel, and roughly 700 have left, mainly via land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan, since the Iran attack began, according to the Tourism Ministry.<\/p>\n With no plan in sight for when Israel\u2019s airspace will be partially or fully reopened for the operation of repatriation flights, Arkia on Sunday launched flights using Electra Airways\u2019 Airbus A320 aircraft to and from Athens in Greece to Egypt\u2019s Taba International Airport to help stranded Israelis return home via land border crossing. Travelers stuck in Israel can leave the country via this route. One-way tickets are sold for a steep $449.<\/p>\n Amid strong demand by desperate Israelis stranded abroad, starting Monday, Arkia is adding flights to Taba from Rome in Italy and Larnaca in Cyprus, with one-way tickets sold for $549 and $359, respectively.<\/p>\n \t For passengers landing in Taba and crossing the land border with Egypt into Israel, Egged buses will be waiting at the exit of the terminal to transport them to central bus stations in Eilat and Beersheba in the south, Ben Gurion Airport parking lot, and Tel Aviv in the center.<\/p>\n Rival Israeli carrier Israir on Sunday announced plans to operate flights to and from Taba and Jordan\u2019s Aqaba airports but has not provided further details.<\/p>\n El Al said it was planning a schedule for rescue flights once Israel reopens its airspace, promising that its own ticket holders will automatically be assigned seats. The flag carrier estimated that currently about 15,000 El Al customers were stranded abroad because of the flight suspensions since the airspace was closed, and with every day of cancellations another 10,000 are added.<\/p>\n At the direction of Transportation Minister Miri Regev, the Shipping and Ports Authority late on Saturday issued a call for the operation of temporary shipping lines for the repatriation of Israelis from Cyprus. The call was for shipping companies and travel agencies to propose vessels with a capacity of at least 800 passengers for the operation of a fast maritime line between Cypriot ports in Limassol and Larnaca and Israeli ports.<\/p>\n Mano Maritime, which during the last war with Iran in June operated vessels to bring back stranded Israelis<\/a> home by sea from Cyprus in coordination with the Transportation Ministry, said in response that its 2026 cruise season is scheduled to begin on March 19.<\/p>\n \u201cOur ship is currently in shipyards abroad undergoing pre-planned work for periodic technical maintenance and upgrades in preparation for the cruise season,\u201d Mano said.<\/p>\n Not everyone stranded abroad or stuck in Israel is waiting for state-organized repatriation.<\/p>\n For Amit Hari, a licensed captain and the owner of the Sailor Yacht Club in the Herzliya Marina, the phone has not stopped ringing since Israel closed its airspace on Saturday. During the last 12-day war with Iran in June, the club brought Israelis back home from Cyprus on private yachts.<\/p>\n On Sunday afternoon, a 40-foot yacht that can take up six to eight passengers at a time with their luggage left from the Herzliya Marina on a 30-hour voyage to the port of Larnaca.<\/p>\n \t \u201cYesterday, the madness began with hundreds of calls by people who want to get out, and Israelis who want to come back home,\u201d said Hari. \u201cAmong the group leaving Israel today we have a mother and a daughter who live in Belgium, and came to visit family in the country, and a foreign worker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReturning from Larnaca on Tuesday will be Israelis, most of them are doctors coming back from conventions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Hari said that the prices in the market for private yacht voyages on fancy motorboats can reach up to NIS 25,000 ($8,000) per person.<\/p>\n \u201cWe charge our normal price for going to Cyprus, which is NIS 4,000, and includes a place in the cabin with a toilet, but you can get it cheaper,\u201d said Hari.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPassengers on a private yacht chartered by Sailor Yacht Club is leaving from the Herzliya Marina to sail to the Larnaca port in Cyprus, on March 1, 2026. (Courtesy, Sailor Yacht Club)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/elena-300x480.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tElena Sale. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/amitboat-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tAmit Hari, skipper and owner of the Sailor Yacht Club in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n
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