Currently, nobody knows when Ben-Gurion Airport will reopen. It could be later this week, or could be next week.

El Al said it would not resume flights before next Monday to Berlin, Barcelona, and 22 other cities. Moreover, El Al has told its consumers they would not be eligible for a cash refund but can get a voucher that can be used within the next 12 months.

An airline whose profit the last 20 months has reached record highs has decided to keep your money and instead give you a voucher. Does anybody at El Al realize the chutzpah of this move?

We all know the developments in Iran have been a force majeure, but after making so much money and paying out huge dividends to its owners, shouldn’t now be the time to show some generosity and offer a refund to its customers?

Does one make their way to Larnaca or Athens in the hope that once the skies open, dozens and dozens of rescue flights will be sent there to bring home the tens of thousands stranded passengers? This decision has to take into account a myriad of factors.

People cross to Egypt through the Taba Border Crossing, during the summer holiday, in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, August 6, 2023 (credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON/FLASH90)
People cross to Egypt through the Taba Border Crossing, during the summer holiday, in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, August 6, 2023 (credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON/FLASH90)
If you are in the US with family and friends, then it may make more sense to stay put instead of buying a new ticket to Cyprus or Greece and hope the airport opens up.

Conversely, if you are on a business trip in London or Zurich, it would be less expensive to find accommodations in Larnaca or Athens.

There is a third option – certainly not for the faint of heart but one that several clients have taken avail of. They are flying to Amman or Aqaba in Jordan or Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt and then making their way to a land crossing near Beit She’an or Taba, Egypt, near Eilat.

Some cities in Europe fly nonstop to Amman but not to Aqaba or Sharm el-Sheikh.

From the US or the Far East, there are hardly any nonstop flights to Amman. So, one must transfer along the way, usually via Istanbul or Cairo.

There is, for good reason, a lot of trepidation about transversing either of those airports.

Flying in business class does keep you insulated in a business-class lounge waiting for the connecting flight. But then you land in Amman, usually early in the morning, and have more than a three-hour ride to the land crossing near Beit She’an.

Does one hail a Jordanian taxi in the furtive hope that the driver likes Israel, or does one arrange a VIP transfer, armed or not, to drive to the border crossing?

Flying into Sharm el-Sheikh has the same lengthy drive to get to the Israeli crossing with the same inherent risks.

If you are fortunate to get a flight into Aqaba, on the other side of the Gulf of Eilat from Eilat, you can get a Jordanian taxi for the 10-minute drive to Taba.

In truth, there is no easy way to handle the tens of thousands of stranded passengers. The vast majority of the foreign carriers have left Israel with no plans to return for several months.

Many will not return until late October

The damage has been done; they won’t be back soon after the war ends. Many won’t be back until late October, while others optimistically say they will return in August.

Whatever profits the airlines, Israeli-based and foreign-based, were planning from their Israeli clientele has been severely damaged. Every day the war continues will only increase the loss.

War is most certainly hell, and travelers stranded abroad are living through Dante’s nine circles of hell.

Mark Feldman is the CEO of Ziontours, Jerusalem and a Director at Diesenhaus.

For questions and comments email him at mark.feldman@ziontours.co.il