Net 90,000 More Israelis Enter Than Exit Before Knesset Vote

Ordinary Israelis are rearranging travel plans to cast ballots in Tuesday’s Knesset election on October 27. Airport records indicate a sharp decline in outbound flights and a concurrent increase in arrivals at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Channel 13 analyzed passenger traffic from October 17 to 27 across three years. In 2026, approximately 245,000 passengers left the country. That number drops from roughly 270,000 in 2025 and 323,000 in 2022, the previous general election year. The decrease occurs despite a larger available fleet and more flights than in prior periods.

Inbound traffic moved in the opposite direction. More than 90,000 more people entered Israel than left during the same window in 2026. The comparable figure for 2025 was about 77,000. No special airlifts organized this surge. Travelers used standard commercial capacity to return home.

The data does not isolate voters from other travelers. Totals include children and foreign nationals who cannot vote. Channel 13 estimated that 90,000 people equates to roughly two Knesset seats if all cast valid ballots. This calculation assumes the entire group participates in the election.

Israel’s electoral threshold requires parties to secure 3.25% of valid votes. The 120 Knesset seats distribute proportionally among qualifying parties. Small shifts in turnout can determine which parties clear that line. The impact of returning voters depends on how their ballots split among candidates.

A recent Fly&Vote survey estimated that 67,000 Israelis living abroad planned to travel home to vote. That figure comes from registration data and voluntary responses, not confirmed airport arrivals. Most citizens abroad cannot vote remotely. The AID Coalition runs the Fly&Vote initiative, though its activities faced restrictions after legal proceedings started by Likud.

Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of the country’s first prime minister, arrived from the United States with his family. He traveled to Tiberias to vote. Dedicated flights from New York and Lisbon operated in August to meet demand from overseas residents.