Ten additional U.S. military refueling aircraft are expected to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in the coming days, joining more than 30 already parked there and adding further pressure to an airport already facing major summer travel delays, according to Ynet.

The Israeli Airports Authority has warned that the presence of the refueling aircraft is disrupting airport operations, creating unusual congestion and causing a domino effect across flight schedules. More than 20 U.S. refueling aircraft have already caused disruptions at Ben Gurion in recent weeks.

Average delays this week reached approximately 65 minutes at Terminal 3 and 61 minutes at Terminal 1. More than 90,000 passengers passed through the airport on Thursday, with some travelers reporting waits of more than two hours for their luggage.

The congestion has been compounded by two separate aviation disruptions. A communications failure involving a radar system in Greek airspace caused delays and flight changes on Sunday, followed the next day by a malfunction in the Eurocontrol air traffic control system in Brussels.

Flights to Berlin recorded the longest average delays this week at approximately 105 minutes, while flights to Heraklion and Corfu in Greece averaged around 97 minutes.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)