1H/07 - 6.4% more passengers passed through Ben Gurion Airport

The three Israeli airlines carried two million passengers altogether during the first half, down 2.5% on the corresponding half
 
The Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) said last week that the number of passengers passing through Ben Gurion Airport in the first half of 2007 was 6.4% higher, compared with the corresponding half of 2006.
 
The ICAA noted that the three main Israeli carriers El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. Arkia Airlines Ltd., and Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. carried 45% of all passengers, and foreign scheduled and charter airlines carried the rest.
 
El Al carried 1.67 million passengers during the first half, 4.2% fewer than during the first half of last year.
 
Israir carried 158,000 passengers during the first half, up 12.5% on the corresponding half, and Arkia carried 123,000 passengers, down 2.4%.
 
The three Israeli airlines carried two million passengers altogether during the first half, down 2.5% on the corresponding half.
 
The decline at El Al was mainly because the airline had, during the last few months, eliminated some destinations for financial reasons, including routes to Turkish resorts, because of their high security costs.
 
Lufthansa carried the most passengers of all the foreign airlines at Ben Gurion. The German carrier carried 198,000 passengers during the first half, 10% more than during the corresponding half.
 
Continental Airlines was in second place, carrying 187,000 passengers, up 7.3%.