Passenger fee at Ben-Gurion to rise: what will happen to ticket prices

The Israel Airports Authority has updated its tariffs for 2027. The passenger fee at Terminal 3 will increase to $37.68, and at Terminal 1 to $17.36. The dollar-denominated increase is about 11.2%. Airlines pay the fee and may pass some of the cost on to passengers. The Authority explains that in shekels the fee is not rising beyond indexation, and the dollar increase is due to the dollar's weakening.

The Israel Airports Authority has updated its tariffs for 2027. The passenger fee at Terminal 3 will rise from $33.87 to $37.68, and at Terminal 1 from $15.61 to $17.36. In dollar terms, the increase is about 11.2%. Airlines remit the fee to the Authority for each departing passenger. This is one of the cost items for a flight, so part of the expense may be built into the ticket price. How much tickets will actually rise depends on the carrier's pricing policy and competition on the route. The Airports Authority explains that tariffs are set in shekels and are recalculated annually based on the consumer price index and the estimated dollar exchange rate. In shekels, the fee is not rising beyond the indexation required by law. A significant part of the dollar increase is explained by the dollar's weakening: when the same shekel fee is converted at a lower exchange rate, the dollar amount comes out higher. For airlines, even a small change in the fee per passenger turns into significant costs with a large number of flights. With high competition, carriers may absorb some of the costs themselves.