Tishrei holiday travel has pushed Ben Gurion Airport's parking lots past their limit. The Israel Airports Authority announced Sunday that every lot at the airport, without exception, is now at full capacity. There is not a single available parking space.
For anyone heading to the airport in the coming hours, the message from the authority is blunt: Leave the car at home. Passengers and those accompanying them are being asked to leave their private vehicles at home and use public transportation instead.
The situation stands out because the congestion is not limited to the parking lots near the terminals. The long-term parking lots, used by travelers who leave their vehicles for the duration of their vacation, are also at full capacity.
And unlike previous notices about temporary rush-hour congestion, this one comes with no expiration date. The Israel Airports Authority's guidance remains in effect "until further notice," and the authority said it will issue another update only once the occupancy situation actually changes.
The congestion comes in the midst of the Tishrei holiday season, historically one of the busiest travel stretches at Ben Gurion Airport. Authority figures released ahead of the holidays projected that roughly 1.13 million passengers, arriving and departing combined, would pass through the airport between the end of Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) and Isru Chag Sukkot (the day after the week-long Sukkot holiday ends).
In its statement, the Israel Airports Authority said, "Due to the rise in passenger volume during the Tishrei holidays, Ben Gurion Airport's parking lots are currently at full capacity, with no available parking spaces until further notice. We ask the traveling public and those accompanying them to avoid arriving at Ben Gurion Airport by private vehicle and to reach the airport using public transportation. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your understanding."
The authority added that it would issue a further update once the parking lots' occupancy status changes.
