By Staff, Agencies Recent figures have shown that passenger traffic at the main international airport in the “Israeli”-occupied territories plunged by 43% during the first nine months of the current year due to the ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip and escalating confrontations with Lebanese Hezbollah resistance fighters. According to a report from the “Israel” Airports Authority on Tuesday, Ben Gurion International Airport served 10.85 million international passengers between January and September, down from 19.01 million during the same period in the preceding year.

With many foreign airlines stopping or reducing flights to the occupied lands, more travelers are choosing “Israeli” carriers, which have seen traffic increase by up to 25 percent.

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, several airlines have frequently suspended and resumed flights to the “Israeli”-occupied territories on short notice.

The European Commission and European Union Aviation Safety Agency [EASA] in a statement late last month advised commercial jets to avoid Lebanese airspace and skies over the occupied Palestinian territories, leading several airlines to cease flights to both destinations.

The directive prompted major European carriers, including the Lufthansa Group and KLM, as well as Virgin Atlantic which had just resumed service to Tel Aviv, to further suspend service.

In addition to “Israeli” carriers, the major airlines that have been flying to the occupied lands include Etihad Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Chinese Hainan Airlines, Georgian Airlines, Uzbekistan Airlines and Flydubai, Carriers operating in the region are now required to take longer routes, utilizing Egyptian and Saudi Arabian airspace to avoid potential flashpoints.

A separate report by “Israel's” Central Bureau of Statistics showed that the number of foreign tourists visiting the "Israeli"-occupied lands fell by 73.2 percent year-on-year, down from 2.83 million to 757,100 in the first nine months of 2024