Israeli Airlines Prepare Rescue Flights for  Stranded Citizens

Israeli airlines are moving forward with plans to launch rescue flights for tens of thousands of citizens currently stranded overseas, in coordination with a proposal introduced by Transportation Minister Miri Regev on Monday.

As of Tuesday, El Al has begun accepting registrations through its website for travelers whose flights were recently canceled. In a separate interview, the CEO of Arkia noted that bringing all Israelis back home may take up to a month and offered initial pricing estimates for the effort.

Although the original goal was to begin the repatriation effort on Tuesday, the start date has been delayed until Wednesday.

El Al clarified that the registration process is only available to passengers who had booked with El Al or Sun D’Or and whose return flights to Israel were canceled following the closure of Israeli airspace.

The airline emphasized that “registration order does not affect priority — seating will be prioritized by original flight date.”

Passengers with urgent needs may be granted what the airline calls “humanitarian priority,” provided they submit proper documentation and receive approval from the airline’s medical team. Requests involving political or security concerns will require clearance from the Israeli government.

Heavy traffic on El Al’s website caused many users to encounter digital waiting lines, with some seeing messages like: “Users ahead of you in line: 40,046.”