As the flight was preparing to take off, the pilot told passengers that it would be the first repatriation flight to land in Tel Aviv, saying, \u201cThis is a significant and moving moment for all of us, after five days during which the country\u2019s skies were closed to commercial flights. We are proud to bring you back to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t El Al said in a statement that the flight was made after \u201cextensive operational preparations carried out in recent days by the company.\u201d<\/p>\n Landings were briefly halted Thursday morning amid an Iranian missile attack that targeted central Israel. One missile struck an open area in a central town without causing injuries, according to rescue forces.<\/p>\n More El Al flights during the day were expected from Milan, Tbilisi, Budapest, Larnaca, Paris, Munich, London, and Geneva.<\/p>\n Under the current framework, two narrow-body jets or one wide-body jet are permitted to land every hour, subject to security developments and assessments from security services and the IDF Home Front.<\/p>\n Authorities are aiming to have 17 flights land on Thursday, and double that volume on Friday, Channel 12 reported. The Friday flights will include planes from North America.<\/p>\n The Israel Airports Authority has previously said that passengers landing at Ben Gurion Airport will be required to leave the terminal area as quickly as possible, after passing through security controls and once they pick up their luggage. A bus and Israel Railways transportation system will be in place to help those arriving leave the airport swiftly amid concerns of Iranian missile attacks.<\/p>\n In the coming days, El Al plans to pick up Israelis from a total of 22 destinations, including New York, Miami, and Los Angeles in the US, and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand.<\/p>\n The Ynet outlet reported there will also be repatriation flights over the weekend, but El Al will not fly on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, which begins at sundown Friday and ends 25 hours later on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n El Al said in a statement that it asked authorities coordinating the repatriation flights to assign it flight times before and after Shabbat \u201cin a way that will allow the company to operate an air train accordingly, using its entire fleet of aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Regev also announced Thursday that Israel is preparing to reopen the country\u2019s airspace for outbound flights from Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter assessing the situation, we have made the decision to open the skies starting Sunday for outbound flights, subject to security developments,\u201d Regev said in a statement. \u201cWe will update throughout the day on the outline.\u201d<\/p>\n Outgoing flights on Sunday, if approved, will be at a rate of just one an hour, Channel 12 reported without citing sources. Only 50 passengers will be permitted on each plane, and travelers will not be permitted to check in luggage for the cargo hold. Flyers will have to use the early check-in program and arrive at the airport an hour and a half before the flight. Only passengers will be permitted to enter the terminal building. Outbound flights will be linked to the number of repatriation flights that arrive.<\/p>\n El Al flight ticket sales have been halted until March 21 to allow customers whose flights were canceled to be assigned to repatriation flights as the airspace reopens. Israir has halted ticket sales until March 18.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/F260305AVS04-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tAn El Al plane takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, March 5, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90) *<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/F260303YY03-1-e1772700178513-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tTransportation Minister Miri Regev speaks during a press conference regarding the reopening of Israeli airspace amid the war with Iran, in Tel Aviv, March 3, 2026. (Yehoshua Yosef\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our wartime journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DH-new-headshot-circular.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n