Flights may not return until July -- report

A top official at Ben-Gurion International Airport is estimating that Israel’s main gateway will likely only begin to ease back into normal operations in July.

The estimation runs counter to what officials had hopes would be a gradual reopening of Israel’s skies next month to countries that have also seemingly managed to get the coronavirus under control.

“Nobody wants infections to break out here again and we all know that the virus came to Israel by air,” Ben-Gurion CEO Shaul Zakai tells Channel 12 news after a tour by Health Ministry officials to test the airport’s readiness.

Despite new virus cases mostly dwindling, the airport remains on emergency footing, with only a few flights in and out of the country daily.