Hysteria at Israel’s Airport as Many Return To Enlist, Terrified Tourists Desperate To Flee
Ben-Gurion Airport is working at 70% of its normal activity, with most airlines canceling flights while others are increasing theirs to fill the gaps
In times of war, either fleeing from or returning to the country under attack becomes a priority for many. Those who are desperate to leave or else in a rush to return are ready to do whatever it takes to reach their destination. Given the changing circumstances, normal air traffic is affected.
“I was yesterday in Melbourne, Australia, and I did all I could to get here. I took a flight to Bangkok without knowing which flight I was going to take next. Then, I found another flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and then to here. It was a long journey,” Roei Shaabon, a 24-year-old Israeli who returned to enlist as an army reservist, told The Media Line.
Israelis vacationing abroad found themselves stuck in every corner of the world after airlines started canceling their flights in light of the war and the thousands of rockets raining down on Israel.
Natalie Ovadia, an Israeli teacher from Herzliya, was in Greece with her friends when she received news that a war had erupted in her home country. She described to The Media Line how traumatic that moment was for her.
“Terrible, terrible, we could not stop crying. Unfortunately, one of my best friends, whose brother is in the army, was killed, and we missed the funeral yesterday,” she said.
Ovadia and her friends’ flight back to Israel had been scheduled for Saturday night, but their airline canceled it, and after innumerable efforts, they managed to fly to Cyprus and then to Israel from there.
Ben-Gurion International Airport is Israel’s primary gateway to the world. On a normal day, some 500 flights would bring or return 80,000 passengers. On day four of the current war between Israel and Hamas, and despite the cancellation of many flights, the airport was functioning at 70%, according to its spokesperson. On Tuesday, 67,000 travelers arrived or departed.
While many fear danger as the war enters its fifth day, others want to return to Israel to serve their home country despite high airline ticket fares and difficult circumstances.
Sarig Cohen was traveling in India, embarking on the well-known long trip that many Israelis typically do after finishing their mandatory military service. But as soon as he got the news, he decided to return to Israel and join his friends in battle.
“We need to return security to Israel. That’s why we decided to come back to Israel and join the miluim [army reserves],” he told The Media Line.
I arrived here to join my team in the army, to fight in our home after seven months of being out of sight
Shaabon was doing the same in Australia. Likewise, he felt a moral obligation to leave everything he was doing abroad and return home to join his battalions and defend their homeland. “I arrived here to join my team in the army, to fight in our home after seven months of being out of sight,” he told The Media Line.
“Too many families were killed this time, in this war, and my team can’t go without me. Not because they can’t physically, but I have to be with them,” he added.
Many Israelis also felt the need to be with their families in light of the traumatic news they woke up to on Saturday morning.
Tamir, Zvi, and Aviram Bernstein, a father, and his two adult sons, were on a trip in London when they heard that Israel was under attack, and returning home became a priority for them.
“It was important for us first of all because we felt insecure abroad. Secondly, our families were here in Israel, and our children and our wives were alone running to the shelters, out and in, so we must be here,” Bernstein told The Media Line.
In the Far East alone, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Israeli soldiers and medical professionals trying to return to Israel. Liron Zaslansky, Israel’s consul general in Dubai, is co-managing a task force that is chartering flights and purchasing tickets to assist with the logistical support to help bring these Israelis back to Israel.
Israel is also receiving donations from all over the world. Thousands of boxes full of military equipment for the soldiers at the borders and needed objects for the citizens of the south have arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport.
“We got a message that there is a big community that wants to donate and give us equipment and everything we need. They said, ‘Just make a list, and we’ll do it,’ and now I heard that they went and bought and packed everything,” one Israeli army reservist told The Media Line after arriving at the airport to pick up the donations and take them back to his base.
The Jewish community from Orange County in California found its way to support the Israeli soldiers however it could. “We got here the best equipment we need; we have gloves, underwear, socks, headlights, whatever we need. Now I’m taking this back to the base to my friends, and we feel amazing because we know that someone is taking care of us. Everybody cares, and the morale is getting higher and higher every minute,” the reservist added.
As Israelis are finding their way in, many tourists terrified by the events they are caught in, are desperate to leave the warzone.
It has cost each one of us like a thousand something. Each one of us has to pay that much for the ticket. We called the US Embassy, but they said it [the situation] is nothing major.
Tammy Nguyen, a tour leader at Fatima Tour, California, told The Media Line that after eight days of touring, the war started, and her group is terrified and desperate to leave Israel. They are currently at Ben-Gurion Airport trying to buy standby tickets without success.
These 48 pilgrims are stuck at the airport, spending a lot of money on tickets so they can leave. “It has cost each one of us like a thousand something. Each one of us has to pay that much for the ticket. We called the US Embassy, but they said it [the situation] is nothing major, so they are not going to send a flight here for us,” Nguyen said.
Philipp Meyer, a German exchange student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, also complained about his country not providing him any help to leave Israel.
“My parents were very worried, so I called the German Embassy in Tel Aviv, and they didn’t even pick up the emergency hotline. … My parents called the Foreign Ministry, and they told them: ‘We are not going to come and get the citizens because is not dangerous enough,’” he told The Media Line.
Meanwhile, hotels are encouraging tourists to leave and assisting in getting them home. As more Israelis return, the flight situation remains unclear.
