A dispute over the stationing of additional US tanker aircraft at Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv has been resolved, according to reports from Saturday.
Israeli media cited the military as saying the extra US planes would be based at Israeli Air Force installations rather than at the international airport.
US tanker aircraft already stationed in Israel had previously caused capacity problems at Ben Gurion Airport. The airport can now use only a third of its capacity for civilian air traffic, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The Israeli Airports Authority had warned that if further aircraft were stationed there, up to 50,000 tickets could be cancelled during the peak travel season. Transport Minister Miri Regev subsequently instructed the Airports Authority not to permit landings by tanker aircraft beyond the agreed number.
US news portal Axios reported on Friday that the US government had informed Israel it would be sending dozens of additional tanker aircraft ahead of a possible expansion of its military operation against Iran.
Israeli government officials said the US military preferred to station the tanker aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport because other air force bases in the region were more exposed to the threat of Iranian attacks and less secure for US planes.
Modern air defence systems such as Iron Dome and Arrow around Ben Gurion Airport offer better protection than military bases in the desert, they said.