Ben Gurion Airport remains heavily disrupted more than a day after Thursday's operational breakdown
By Sammy Tisser,
Ben Gurion Airport remains heavily disrupted more than a day after Thursday's operational breakdown, with Flightradar24 data showing it as the world's most disrupted airport for departures on Friday. Departing flights were facing average delays of roughly 70 to 90 minutes, while the airport ranked 10th globally when both arrivals and departures were included.
The Israel Airports Authority has blamed Thursday's shutdown on a wildcat strike by airport workers, after check-in counters and baggage handling stopped for more than an hour. Airport union chief Pinchas Idan strongly denies that any strike took place, instead accusing management of shutting down operations amid severe staffing shortages. Idan says employees have been working shifts of up to 13 hours and had repeatedly warned that baggage handling teams were understaffed.
The dispute has now escalated politically. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal request to expel Idan from the Likud party, arguing that the timing of the disruption, one day after Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Miri Regev toured the airport, was intended to embarrass them.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Idan had attempted a day earlier to prevent Regev's luggage from being loaded onto her flight to Morocco as a demonstration of the staffing crisis, an allegation he denies. Tens of thousands of Israelis are reportedly stranded abroad, some without their luggage, while the continuing disruption is estimated to cost around NIS 30 million.
Topics: Israeli Politics
Reported by Sammy Tisser for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.