Israel is preparing to reopen the country’s airspace for outbound flights beginning Sunday, Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced.

“After assessing the situation, we have made the decision to open the skies starting Sunday for outbound flights, subject to security developments,” Regev said. “We will update throughout the day.”

The announcement came shortly after the first rescue flights bringing stranded travelers back to Israel landed at Ben Gurion Airport following five days of a complete closure of the country’s airspace.

An El Al flight arriving from Athens was the first to land, followed minutes later by an Israir flight from Rome. Additional rescue flights operated by Arkia and Air Haifa are expected to arrive later in the day as part of the effort to return Israelis who were left stranded abroad during the closure.

Officials say the situation continues to be assessed and further updates regarding flight operations are expected as security conditions evolve.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)