Israel preparing to gradually reopen airspace for repatriation, starting overnight Wednesday-Thursday

By Sharon Wrobel

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3 March 2026, 6:11 pm

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Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel

Illustrative: Travelers are seen at the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv, February 26, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israel is making preparations to gradually reopen the country’s airspace overnight Wednesday to Thursday to start flying back Israelis stranded abroad.

According to the emerging plan, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport will operate 24 hours a day and will open in a controlled manner.

In the first phase, the entry of one passenger aircraft per hour will be approved. In the second phase, two will enter every hour, or one wide-body plane will enter, subject to security and operational conditions. The framework is still subject to final approvals.

Israel’s skies have been closed since the start of the joint US-Israel attack on Iran on Saturday morning.