The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) announced on Tuesday that it is closing Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday until at least the end of April.

“International charter flights were stopped last week and tomorrow we are closing the terminal because there are almost no domestic flights,” IAA spokesperson Ofer Lefler said. The few remaining domestic flights have been moved to Terminal 3.

As the coronavirus crisis has increasingly grown worse and the Israeli government has responded with more and more travel restrictions, El Al was forced to put 70% of its staff on forced leave, including 550 pilots.

The IAA announced on Monday that it is placing another 2,000 employees on unpaid leave. It also stated that it has lost almost $313 million to date including the closure of duty-free stores.

About 5,891 flights to and from Israel were canceled in the month of March.

El Al has estimated that it lost $160 million in the first four months of 2020.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)