Voters Skip Trips for Knesset Ballot

Passenger traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport shifted as voters prioritized the upcoming election over leisure travel. Channel 13 reported Sunday that fewer Israelis are leaving the country before the October 27 vote, while arrivals are rising.

The network cited airport data comparing the period from October 17 to 27 in 2022, 2025, and 2026. In 2026, approximately 245,000 passengers departed Israel. This figure is lower than the 270,000 recorded in 2025 and the 323,000 from 2022, the last time Israel held a general election.

The decline in outbound travel is notable because current aviation options offer more flights and aircraft than in previous years. Despite this increased capacity, fewer people are choosing to leave.

Inbound traffic shows a different trend. No special airlifts were organized to bring voters home, yet arrivals have largely relied on existing infrastructure to exceed departures. The difference between incoming and outgoing passengers in 2026 has surpassed 90,000. In 2025, the gap for the same period was about 77,000.

Channel 13 estimated that 90,000 people represent the equivalent of two Knesset seats if they are eligible voters casting valid ballots. Israel has an electoral threshold of 3.25% of valid votes. Small shifts in turnout can determine whether parties near that line secure representation in the 120-seat Knesset.

The passenger data includes children and foreign nationals who cannot vote. It does not confirm that every arriving citizen returned specifically to vote. However, the numbers align with a recent Fly&Vote survey. That survey estimated about 67,000 Israelis living abroad intended to travel home to vote.

Most Israeli citizens abroad cannot vote remotely and must return to Israel to cast ballots. The AID Coalition runs the Fly&Vote initiative to help overseas Israelis navigate the process. Likud initiated legal proceedings that restricted some of the coalition's activities.

Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, arrived from the United States with his family. He traveled to Tiberias to vote. Dedicated flights from New York and Lisbon were arranged in August to meet earlier demand for returning voters.