Ben Gurion's Capacity Comeback: Record El Al Profits, Arrivals Up 28%, a New VIP Lounge

El Al's second-quarter net profit doubled to roughly $132 million on 27% revenue growth, and the carrier is backing that up with a record $1.4 billion order backlog and plans to grow Q3 capacity 6–10%. The bigger story for advisors is market share: Israeli carriers — El Al, Israir, and Arkia — are absorbing Ben Gurion traffic that foreign airlines have been slow to restore since the war-era pullback, giving domestic carriers pricing power that outside competition would normally check. Practically, that means fares on Tel Aviv routes are likely to stay firm through Q3, and advisors should keep booking windows tight and lean on El Al/Israir/Arkia inventory rather than waiting for foreign-carrier capacity to loosen things up. Watch for whether the promised capacity growth actually shows up in published schedules before assuming relief on price.

Israel logged 109,000 tourist arrivals in July, up 28% from 85,000 a year earlier, bringing the year-to-date total to 539,000. The Tourism Ministry's own read is notable: demand isn't the constraint, flight capacity is — a direct echo of the airline-share dynamic playing out at Ben Gurion. That's drawing policy attention: Ambassador Mike Huckabee's Israel Tourism Recovery Forum is pressing airlines to restore and add US routes, and floated a Birthright-style program aimed at young evangelicals, a segment advisors serving faith-based travel should watch for future marketing dollars and group inventory. For now, the takeaway is unchanged from recent weeks: demand is recovering fast, but advisors should build itineraries around confirmed seats first, since air access — not hotel or ground capacity — remains the binding constraint on how many of these travelers can actually get to Israel.

A new premium arrivals lounge, operated by Jetex and Layam, has opened at Ben Gurion's Terminal 3. Access is free for passengers flying business or first class on El Al and select foreign carriers including Etihad, British Airways, and Air France, and for holders of premium American Express cards; everyone else can pay roughly $100 for entry. For advisors, it's a concrete new upsell for premium-cabin or high-end corporate clients transiting Tel Aviv — a tangible amenity to point to when justifying a business-class fare or an Amex-linked booking, and a small differentiator as Ben Gurion's terminal product competes with regional hubs. Worth flagging to clients with long layovers or early-morning arrivals in particular, and worth confirming current eligibility and pricing directly before promising access, since lounge terms at new openings tend to shift in the first months.

Fattal Hotel Group, the Israeli-owned chain that also anchors much of the country's domestic hotel inventory, has added two properties to its European portfolio: the leasehold on London's 283-room The Dilly for £66.5 million, and the Hilton Evian-les-Bains through its Leonardo Hotels division. Neither deal touches Israel directly, but it signals that Fattal — a name advisors already rely on for Tel Aviv and Jerusalem inventory — is investing aggressively rather than pulling back, which matters for confidence in its broader pipeline, including any Israel refurbishment or expansion plans advisors are tracking. For advisors selling UK or French Alps itineraries alongside Israel packages, The Dilly and the Evian property are now bookable under a chain whose loyalty program and rates may already be familiar from Israeli stays — worth checking for cross-sell or points-transfer value on multi-stop itineraries.

Israel's Foreign Ministry has issued a fresh advisory for Greece, warning Israeli and Jewish travelers ahead of nationwide pro-Palestinian protests expected across Athens, Thessaloniki, and the islands. Guidance is specific and actionable: avoid demonstration areas, remove or conceal visibly Jewish or Israeli symbols, and stop posting real-time location updates on social media. This lands squarely on peak-season Greece bookings — a top outbound destination for Israeli clients and a popular add-on for Jewish-diaspora itineraries — and advisors should relay the guidance directly to travelers currently in-market or departing soon, including practical steps like adjusting jewelry, luggage tags, and social sharing habits. There's no indication of route or entry disruption, so this is a conduct-and-awareness advisory rather than a booking freeze, but it's worth a proactive note to any client on a Greek itinerary this week rather than waiting for them to ask.

An Arkia flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv was pulled back before takeoff after crew discovered a passenger had boarded using someone else's ticket, having passed through Schiphol security unchecked. The aircraft returned to the gate for a security sweep before departing. No injuries or lasting disruption were reported, but the episode is a useful reminder that European gateway airports serving Israeli carriers are still running tighter, sometimes inconsistent, screening processes post-reopening, and that delays of this kind can occur without warning on Arkia, Israir, or El Al European rotations. Advisors booking connections through Amsterdam or other secondary European gateways onto Israeli carriers should build in real buffer time before onward connections, and flag to clients that a security-related ground stop, while rare, is a live possibility rather than a hypothetical on these routes right now.