As flights on hold, hot air balloons take off from Ben-Gurion Airport
"I have been doing this for 15 years, flying all over the world, and I have never done a thing like this."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA hot air balloon soars over the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel(photo credit: REUTERS)
As the number of flights departing from Ben-Gurion Airport dramatically decreased as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the Israeli Airport Authority allowed four hot air balloons to take off on Saturday morning from the Tel Aviv airport's runway.The Airport Authority specially closed the airspace above the airport for the rare and special event, which numerous aviation enthusiasts came to witness, according to Israel's Ynet News.Operators and passengers of the hot air balloons gathered at five in the morning to prepare beside the helicopter pad next to the Terminal 3 control tower, according to the report."I have been doing this for 15 years, flying all over the world, and I have never done a thing like this," said Tal Stieglitz from "Rise Up," one of the operators of the operation, to Ynet. "This is something that we did not imagine or dream of and it will be amazing.""The fact that we are here today shows how coronavirus is bringing along so many special things to our lives," said Amir Shemer, another operator for another hot air balloon company titled "Sky Track."The Airport Authority has been permitting specialty flights of all kinds throughout the past month, as the runways are available either way. The previous month, specialty flying ATVs were permitted to take off from Ben-Gurion. Two weeks prior to the hot air balloons, ultra-light aircraft were permitted to take off.
