Ben Gurion Staff Resume Work After 3-Hour Disruption Hit 100,000 Travelers
Updated
Updated · Ynetnews · Aug 20
Ben Gurion Staff Resume Work After 3-Hour Disruption Hit 100,000 Travelers
3 articles · Updated · Ynetnews · Aug 20
Summary
Around noon, Ben Gurion shut check-in counters and baggage belts and briefly stopped incoming flights, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers facing huge lines, cancellations and delays across 600 flights.
Airport management blamed a surprise workers' action, while the workers' committee said employees buckled under peak-season demand and chronic understaffing, with some staff later summoned to disciplinary hearings.
Talks between the Airports Authority leadership and committee restored full-scale work by about 3 p.m., but the backlog kept chaos going, with more than 10 flights stranded in Paphos and knock-on delays for Israeli carriers.
Netanyahu later ordered committee chief Pinchas Idan expelled from Likud as party figures alleged the disruption was politically timed, though airport officials said staffing levels would be reinforced.
The Finance Ministry put the economic hit at NIS 25 million to NIS 30 million, warning that Israel's reliance on a single airport and limited aviation capacity leave it vulnerable to repeat disruptions.