Scenes of confusion and anger erupted at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday after travelers who had purchased tickets discovered they could not board their flights despite the airport reopening for outbound travel.

Passengers arriving for departures were stunned to learn that the number of travelers allowed on each flight had been abruptly reduced overnight, leaving hundreds of ticket holders without seats.

The turmoil stemmed from a sudden reversal of wartime aviation guidelines issued amid the ongoing conflict. Just a day earlier, authorities had approved a policy allowing airlines to increase passenger capacity from 100 travelers per flight to 200, a move intended to help clear the backlog of people trying to leave the country.

Airlines quickly acted on the new policy, selling additional tickets to hundreds of customers who had been waiting on standby or reservation lists.

But overnight, the policy was quietly reversed.

By the time passengers began arriving at the airport Monday morning, the cap had been reinstated at 100 passengers per flight, leaving airlines scrambling to determine which travelers would be allowed to board and which would be turned away.

With far more passengers holding tickets than there were available seats, airline staff were forced to make decisions on the spot at check-in counters.

The result was widespread frustration that quickly spilled over into confrontations.

Videos filmed inside the terminal showed shouting matches and pushing between frustrated travelers and airport personnel. In some cases, police were called in to restore order as tempers flared.

“There are elderly people here. Why are you doing this? Take responsibility,” one passenger could be heard shouting at an airline employee.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)