Egypt’s Taba airport becomes escape route for Israelis fleeing Iran war
Taba, a small resort town on Egypt’s border with Israel, has become a transit hub for Israelis and foreign nationals seeking to leave the country or return home after Israel closed its airspace amid its ongoing war on Iran.
Since Israel and the US launched their first strikes on 28 February, thousands of travellers have streamed across the Taba border crossing in both directions.
Some enter Egypt to catch flights to Europe and beyond, while others cross into Israel by bus after landing at Taba’s small international airport, which has been reopened to accommodate the surge in passengers.
The influx of passengers has turned the normally quiet Red Sea town into a busy transit point as governments evacuate citizens and airlines reroute flights across the region.
On 1 March, one day after the closure of Israeli airspace, the Israeli airline Arkia announced flights between Taba and Athens. Israir later said it would operate flights to Taba from six European destinations, in addition to several routes operated by a Cypriot and Greek carrier.
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El Al, Israel’s flagship carrier, considered rerouting flights to Taba but ultimately decided against the move, citing security concerns.
'All of the flights coming in and out of Taba are full'
- Taba airport worker
The flights are part of the Lion’s Wings programme, Israel’s repatriation initiative launched after the start of Operation Roaring Lion - its military offensive against Iran.
Expanded for international service in 2020, Taba International Airport is only a short drive from the Israel-Egypt border crossing near Eilat. In recent years, it has not handled regular commercial traffic or large-scale charter operations.
According to an Egyptian government official who spoke to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity, the airport was fully reopened within two days of Israel’s first strikes on Iran. Flights are being sold directly by participating airlines.
Flights are 'full'
Both the Israeli and American governments have directed citizens to utilise the Taba airport.
In a video posted to X, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, referred travellers to a bus service organised by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism that transports passengers from major Israeli cities to the Taba border crossing.
Israel’s National Security Council has also issued guidance to Israelis transiting through Sinai, advising them to proceed directly from the border crossing to the airport and to avoid displaying items that could identify them as Israeli or Jewish.
'When the missiles started hitting Tel Aviv, I knew we had to leave'
- Israeli mother fleeing to Europe
Now hundreds line up at Taba’s land border crossing each day, some entering Egypt to catch onward flights to Europe and beyond, while others cross into Israel before boarding buses to cities across the country.
“The border crossing was surprisingly easy,” said a Canadian woman in her early fifties who had been visiting Jerusalem when Israel closed its airspace. “There were consular officials from the US and Canadian embassies, and from several other countries.”
Once in Egypt, travellers must arrange their own transport along the desert highway connecting the border crossing with Taba’s airport. Meanwhile, passengers arriving on flights into Taba are met with bottled water and snacks before being whisked to the border in prearranged coaches.
Workers from across Egypt have travelled to Sinai hoping to find employment in a travel sector suddenly fuelled by regional conflict.
“I came from Cairo to work here this week,” said a driver waiting outside a hotel near the border crossing. “I knew there would be many people leaving, and that I could make good money driving them.”
Like many towns across Sinai, Taba has seen tourism decline sharply in recent years amid regional instability. An employee at one of Taba’s international hotel chains said the property had not seen this level of occupancy “in a long time,” adding that nightly rates had risen sharply due to demand.
The Lion’s Wings programme has also provided a pathway for Israelis seeking to leave the country amid fears of escalating violence. “When the missiles started hitting Tel Aviv, I knew we had to leave,” said a young mother travelling to Europe with her partner and children.
Precise figures on how many Israelis are departing via Taba remain unclear. One Canadian national who splits his time between New York and Tel Aviv estimated that roughly 60 percent of travellers crossing into Taba were foreign nationals,with the rest Israeli.
Airport workers say demand continues to surge. “All of the flights coming in and out of Taba are full,” shared an airport worker involved in ground operations.
For Sinai residents, the situation recalls a similar surge in cross-border traffic during the 12-day war on Iran last summer. At the time, hotels in Taba also filled with travellers waiting one or two nights for onward flights -although most departures then were routed through the larger airport in Sharm El Sheikh.
Airport workers say Taba is now seeing as many as 15 departures a day.
The surge in cross-border travel has also underscored the starkly different realities unfolding along Egypt’s borders. While travellers cross with ease in Taba to flee regional instability or catch a flight home, just over 200 kilometers away at the Rafah Crossing into Gaza, the movement of people and aid remains tightly restricted.
“I am definitely benefiting financially from all the travellers in Taba,” said one taxi driver. “But God willing, the violence will end soon. All of it.”
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