Ben Gurion Airport is beginning to fill up with passengers and in recent weeks we can see a clear increase in the number of passengers taking off for short ventilation vacations abroad. Foreign tourists still do not return to Israel and most of the passengers who pass through Ben Gurion Airport are Israelis flying abroad and returning to Israel.
In recent days, the Population and Immigration Authority's directive has changed, and about half of Israelis who do not hold biometric passports will have to go through a process that Israelis were exempt from in recent years. The significant change is that anyone who does not hold a biometric passport will not be able to transfer his passport through machines in the exit sleeves of the planes and will have to wait in line for a Population Authority clerk.
Passenger numbers at Ben Gurion Airport are starting to rise, Photo: Coco
According to our information, this is about half of Israelis who do not yet hold a biometric passport, which means that once the number of passengers at Ben Gurion Airport increases significantly, we may see long lines back to Israel as well. In the period before the war, we saw quite a few long lines waiting for Population Authority visits, and there were tourists who said they waited for an hour or more.
"Closing security loopholes"
In a conversation with Israelis who do not hold a biometric passport, they say: "We went through Ben Gurion Airport and discovered that it is no longer possible to use machines because we do not have a biometric passport. We had to wait in line at the border controls, instead of moving quickly and smoothly through machines that were active and available to all Israelis in recent years. Why should it be? Why are we required to obtain a biometric passport? They proved that these machines can be used without a biometric passport, so why did the decision change? We'll just stand in lines more."
The Population Authority said in response: "As part of correcting the flaws that were flooded in the State Comptroller's report and closing security loopholes, it was decided to take this step. Entry control with a biometric passport using the machines is significantly safer than entry with a non-biometric passport."
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