Net 90,000 travelers enter Israel ahead of Tuesday vote

Passenger traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport has shifted sharply as Israel prepares for its Knesset election on Tuesday, October 27.

Channel 13 reported on Sunday that data from October 17 to 27 shows a net increase of more than 90,000 travelers entering the country this year. This figure contrasts with a gap of about 77,000 during the same period in 2025.

Departures have declined significantly across recent election cycles. In 2026, approximately 245,000 passengers left Israel during the measured window. That number dropped from roughly 270,000 in 2025 and 323,000 in 2022, the last general election. The decrease is notable because current aviation capacity includes more aircraft and flights than in previous years.

Arrivals have outpaced departures despite the lack of a large-scale airlift for voters. Incoming travelers primarily used existing commercial flights. Channel 13 estimated that the 90,000-person gap equates to roughly two Knesset seats if all individuals were eligible voters who cast valid ballots.

The passenger totals include children and foreign nationals who cannot vote, so the data does not isolate those returning specifically for the election. The stakes remain high because Israel’s electoral threshold is 3.25% of valid votes. Small shifts in turnout can determine whether parties near that line secure seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

A recent Fly&Vote survey estimated that about 67,000 Israelis living abroad planned to travel home to vote. The initiative, run by the AID Coalition, assists citizens who must return to cast ballots because remote voting is not widely available. Likud initiated legal proceedings that restricted some of the coalition's activities.

Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of David Ben-Gurion, arrived from the United States with his family. According to Channel 13, he traveled to Tiberias to vote. Organizers arranged dedicated flights from New York and Lisbon in August to meet demand among Israelis overseas.