US military planes harming Israeli commercial activity, airports chief says

JERUSALEM, May 28 (Reuters) - Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel's main air gateway near Tel Aviv, is operating at about one-third of capacity due to the presence of U.S. refuelling aircraft, threatening heavy flight cancellations this summer, the head of the Israel Airports Authority said on Thursday.

Sharon Kedmi, director general of the authority, told Kan's Reshet Bet radio station that 70% of activity at the airport is limited because of the space and resources being taken up by American military activity.

"We are only utilizing one-third of the airport's operational capacity," he said. "We are at the limit of our capabilities. There will be flights that we will announce in the coming days that are being cancelled."

Foreign carriers will not be able to return soon, and as many as 3 million passengers will see their flights cancelled, he added.

Dozens of U.S. tanker planes are currently based at Ben-Gurion.

LOSS COULD RUN TO BILLIONS OF SHEKELS

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem referred Reuters to the State Department for comment, which did not immediately respond.

Kedmi told the station that in the last two months the authority has lost 700 million shekels ($248 million) and if the situation continues, its loss could turn into billions.

He noted that 18 million passengers were projected to pass through the airport, but "right now it looks like we won't exceed 15 million."

"We have no information when the U.S. military's activities at the airport will end. We are in a constant state of flux," Kedmi said.

Earlier this month, Israeli media cited Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakay as saying that U.S. military aircraft at Ben-Gurion were crippling civilian flights, delaying foreign airlines' return and pushing up airfares.

He was cited as telling Israel's Transportation Minister: "Ben-Gurion has turned into a military airfield with limited civilian activity," and was harming local carriers.

Media reported that at the start of the Iran war, Israeli carriers moved aircraft abroad and they have not all returned.

($1 = 2.8269 shekels)

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by David Holmes)