Israel Opens Alternative Airport to More International Flights

BEN GURION AIRPORT, Israel--Israel said it has opened up an existing airport in the south of the country to more international flights, as it scrambles to restore global air connections after U.S. and European regulators advised carriers to avoid Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.

Israel's Transportation Minister said Israel was making the Ovda Airport in southern Israel available to carriers that have halted traffic to Tel Aviv. Ovda, about 37 miles north of the beach resort city of Eilat, can already handle international flights, but it is currently used primarily in the winter by charter airlines, bringing in tourists. No international carrier has so far taken up the offer to fly into the airport, said a spokeswoman for the Israel Airport Authority.

Israeli aviation officials--and travelers in the country and those headed for it--have scrambled to deal with a decision Tuesday by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration banning American carriers from using Tel Aviv after a rocket strike near the airport. The ban was for at least 24 hours, but could be extended.

European aviation regulators didn't go as far and instead issued a warning to carriers to avoid the airport. The FAA said it would review its guidance to airlines on Wednesday.

Since 7 p.m. Tuesday, 80 flights in and out of Ben Gurion have been canceled. Another 209 flights flew or are scheduled to fly through the end of today, according to the airport authority. El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., Israel's national carrier, continues to fly regular service out of Tel Aviv.

Check in lines for El Al ticketing counters swelled with departing passengers who had switched flights from tickets originally booked with airlines that announced cancellations. On the other side of the Ben Gurion departure hall, check-in counters of European and U.S. airlines that had stopped service were all but empty.

British Airways was among the few western airlines that continued operating to Tel Aviv Wednesday, despite the European warning. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Air France-KLM and others joined North American carriers Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., American Airlines Group, and Air Canada in suspending operations.

Lufthansa, KLM and Air Berlin on Wednesday said they would extend their operational suspension through at least Thursday. Lufthansa said 20 flights would be affected.

Israel officials criticized the FAA move.

"We regret the decision of the U.S. FAA. We think it was inappropriate, even according to their own rules," Mr. Katz told reporters Wednesday. "There was no reason to stop flights to and from Ben Gurion. The airport is safeguarded."

Mr. Katz said Israel held a video teleconference with U.S. aviation authorities late Tuesday to analyze the security situation. "For our part, we brought the facts, and a clear message that there was no reason to suspend the flights, and we made an appeal to resume the flights," he told reporters Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to Secretary of State John Kerry to restore flights. The ban didn't prevent Mr. Kerry from landing Wednesday at Ben Gurion on an Air Force jet for a scheduled mission aimed at arranging a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip.

The last time foreign carriers suspended flights to Ben Gurion Airport was during the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq fired Scud missiles at Tel Aviv, said Neri Yarkoni, a former director of Israel's civil aviation authority.

El Al said it was using larger airplanes and adding more flights to some European destinations to accommodate passengers stranded by other airlines canceling flights.

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