US warplanes are competing for space with holidaymakers at Israel's main airport, as warfare resumes with Iran. Israel's Airport Authority said on Tuesday that the US would not withdraw refuelling tankers from Ben Gurion Airport. It threatens massive disruption to the summer holiday season, something the Israeli government has promised to avoid. The US began withdrawing some aircraft earlier in the month, as tensions with Iran appeared to be easing. However, with the resumption of US and Iranian strikes across the Arabian Gulf, the threat of disruptions to air travel is back.Tens of thousands of Israeli flights could now be at risk because of space taken up by US planes. About 75 aircraft have been stationed at Ben Gurion Airport since the beginning of the year, as the US built up its forces in the region before the joint Israeli-American assault on Iran began in February. Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman. ReutersInfoIsraeli outlet Haaretz said the US was supposed to withdraw the aircraft in two phases this month. In a first phase, 18 aircraft were to be removed from Ben Gurion on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that Transport Minister Miri Regev had issued an “extraordinary” order to Israeli air traffic control not to permit US refuellers to land at Ben Gurion Airport.The journalist who broke the report, Itay Blumental, said it “reflects power plays between the Israel Airports Authority and the Americans”. Ms Regev eventually said that she would not allow more than 20 refuelling tankers to land at the airport, with any remaining craft directed to land at Israeli military bases. “We promised that we will enable commercial flights and we will not cancel a single ticket because of American refuelling planes,” she added.However, drama peaked again when Israeli media reported that a US refuelling aircraft landed at Ben Gurion despite Ms Regev’s directive. Her office later said that permission was given for the plane to land only to refuel and that it would not park. Many foreign carriers have stayed away from Israel for much of the period since the October 7 attacks in 2023, leading to major disruption as local carriers struggle for capacity and, in some cases, inflated prices.Earlier in the year, when the number of US refuellers at Ben Gurion was at its highest, Sharon Kedmi, director general of the Israel Airports Authority, said about 70 per cent of operational activity at the airport was restricted due to the presence of the American planes.Israel has two other airports that can serve international flights, but neither has attracted major global carriers nor comes close to Ben Gurion's capacity of 25 million passengers annually. The small Haifa Airport runs a limited number of flights to popular destinations such as Greece and Cyprus. The relatively new Ramon Airport near the southern city of Eilat, with a capacity for 2.5 million passengers annually, is used almost entirely for domestic flights.The news comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens Iran with a “much more powerful” response if it attacks Israel, as tensions climb. “We are prepared for any scenario. I can only tell you one thing, I will say this to the leaders of Iran: Don't count on there being silence if you attack us,” Mr Netanyahu said during an address in the southern Israeli city of Dimona.“The days are over when someone hurts us and we don't hit them with one blow. We did it to the axis of evil in Iran and we will continue to do it to anyone who hurts us.”