Passengers from the north will be provided with an early check-in service at Haifa Airport the day before their flight beginning next week in an attempt to decongest Ben Gurion airport, the Airports Authority announced on Monday.
The service will initially only be provided to Israeli citizens on El Al flights to New York, Newark, Toronto, Bangkok, Phuket, Johannesburg, London Heathrow and Paris.
One member of the family will be able to take all the luggage to Haifa Airport and will have to provide all the passengers' passports. Check-in will be completed, and the luggage will be sent onwards, and the passengers will be able to arrive two hours before the flight the next day and head straight for security and Duty-Free.
The service will operate on Sunday-Thursday between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m..
If the system is proven to be successful, the option to expand it for further locations will be examined.
"The new service starting next week will provide relief in the queues, quicken the check-in process and make it more efficient and make the flying experience more comfortable," said Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli.
"The new service starting next week will provide relief in the queues, quicken the check-in process and make it more efficient and make the flying experience more comfortable."
Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli
"We find ourselves in a time of great human resources crisis that has resulted from the paid leave that was in Israel, but now we are turning every stone to find more and more solutions that will provide relief and give the public a nicer and safer flight."
Israel's airport crisis
Ben Gurion Airport has been experiencing a crisis over the last few months as the skies fully opened after being closed during the height of COVID-19. Due to a shortage in manpower, the queues have lasted hours and the check-in process has been chaotic and inefficient to the point that passengers have been asked to arrive four hours before the flights instead of the regular two-and-a-half.
Ben Gurion is not the only airport to experience such a crisis though. Many airports around the world are reporting similar issues with some canceling flights because they are unable to handle all the passengers.