JERUSALEM, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- An all-time daily record is set at Israel's Ben Gurion international airport, the state's Population, Immigration and Borders Authority (PIBA) announced on Friday.
According to the announcement, the peak broke on Thursday, with about 115,000 people passing through the airport, located near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
Of these passengers, 56,500 entered Israel and 58,500 departed.
The number of passengers departing from Ben Gurion Airport has increased significantly every year due to Israel's open skies policy, which has allowed many low-cost airlines to fly to Israel.
In addition, the high prices of hotel rooms in Israel make many Israelis prefer to travel abroad.
The number of tourists entering Israel has also risen, with most of the Jews wanting to visit the Jewish state.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, in 2018, there was a 13 percent increase in the number of tourists compared to 2017.
Amnon Shmueli, Ben Gurion Airport director at PIBA, told the Hebrew language website ynet that "the good economic situation in Israel and the proper marketing of the Ministry of Tourism contributed to the large numbers of passengers."
