Israelis Alter Travel Plans Ahead of October 27 Knesset Ballot

Voters in Israel face a tangible shift in border traffic this week as the country prepares for the Knesset election on Tuesday, October 27. Channel 13 reported on Sunday that passenger numbers at Ben Gurion Airport have changed sharply compared to previous years. Many citizens are postponing overseas trips, while others are flying home to cast their ballots.

The station analyzed airport activity from October 17 to 27 in 2022, 2025, and 2026. In 2026, approximately 245,000 passengers departed the country during this window. This figure is lower than the roughly 270,000 departures recorded in the same period in 2025, following the end of the war, and the 323,000 departures in 2022. The decline occurred despite an increase in available aircraft and flight options compared to earlier years.

Arrival figures show a different pattern. No dedicated special flights were organized to transport voters back to Israel. Instead, returning citizens utilized existing commercial capacity. Channel 13 calculated that more than 90,000 more people entered the country than left in 2026. In the same ten-day stretch in 2025, that net difference was about 77,000.

The station estimated that a net return of 90,000 people represents roughly two Knesset seats if all were eligible voters casting valid ballots. The data includes children and foreign nationals who cannot vote, so the exact number of returning voters is not specified. However, the margin could impact the election result. Israel's electoral threshold is 3.25% of valid votes. Parties that clear this line receive seats in the 120-member Knesset, and small changes in turnout may determine which parties survive the threshold.

A survey called Fly and Vote estimated that about 67,000 Israelis living abroad planned to travel home to vote. This figure was based on registration data and voluntary responses rather than confirmed arrivals. Most Israeli citizens overseas must return to the country to vote, as remote voting is not generally available. The AID Coalition has supported these efforts, although Likud initiated legal proceedings that restricted some of the initiative's activities.

Alon Ben Gurion, grandson of Israel's first prime minister David Ben Gurion, is among those who returned. Channel 13 reported that he arrived from the United States with his family and traveled to Tiberias to vote. Interest in returning was evident earlier in the year, with organizers arranging dedicated flights from New York and Lisbon in August to meet demand.