After Hours of Chaos at Ben Gurion Airport, Flights Gradually Resume

Unusual disruptions were recorded for hours today (Thursday) at Ben Gurion Airport. Check-in counter operations were shut down due to labor disputes and a staffing shortage, and airlines were informed that landings and departures would gradually resume starting at 3 p.m., in accordance with a revised flight schedule.

Following talks between the chairman of the Airports Authority, the Airports Authority CEO, and the chairman of the workers’ committee, employees returned to work at full capacity. At the same time, it was agreed that a significant effort would be made to expand staffing levels and address operational needs.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on X to the strike at Ben Gurion Airport. “Ben Gurion Airport will remain open and operate as usual. Anyone who stands in the way will be sent home.” 

With employees returning to full operations, activity at Ben Gurion Airport gradually resumed. However, given the backlog that accumulated, it will take time to ease the pressure and fully return to normal.

At the center of the crisis are ground-handling workers, who are responsible for unloading luggage from planes and loading it onto them. The workers decided to strike amid a staffing shortage and heavy workload. As a result, check-in counters were also shut down, since there was no one to receive and handle passengers’ luggage. The Airports Authority said there were “work disruptions directed by the workers’ committee” at the airport.

The Airports Authority management demanded that employees immediately halt the labor actions: “The Authority’s management is calling on employees to immediately stop any action that could harm regular operations and restore activity to full normalcy. The Authority views with severity any deliberate action that could harm the traveling public and the proper operation of Ben Gurion Airport, especially during a period of summer crowds and high levels of activity”.

The Authority also warned that if operations did not return to normal, legal action would be taken: “If the disruptions do not stop, we will turn to the labor court and request its intervention.”

Transportation Minister Miri Regev also sharply addressed the shutdown and announced that she had instructed the Authority’s management to take legal action: “I instructed the Airports Authority management to immediately petition the labor court against the workers’ committee to force them to stop the thuggish and illegal strike. Whoever decided to take tens of thousands of Israeli citizens hostage will pay a heavy price”.

On the other hand, the Histadrut rejected the claim that it had ordered operations to stop, clarifying: “No instruction was issued to stop work.” According to the Histadrut, the events at the airport are the result of a staffing crisis that the Transportation Workers Union had warned the Airports Authority management and the transportation minister about for months.

The Histadrut said: “For many long months, the Transportation Workers Union warned the Airports Authority management and the transportation minister that the existing staffing system was unable to meet the expected demand. The crowds at Ben Gurion Airport did not come as a surprise. The writing was on the wall; the warnings went unanswered, and now the public is paying the price.”

The Histadrut further argued that the ongoing burden falls on workers’ shoulders: “Ben Gurion Airport employees are doing above and beyond to keep the system functioning, but the operation of the national airport cannot be based on the endless burnout of its employees. Workers cannot work hundreds of hours a month to make up for staffing shortages and the state’s poor preparation.”

The current crisis comes after several weeks of repeated disruptions at Ben Gurion Airport. Among other things, recent reports cited flight delays, long lines, and extended waits for luggage to be unloaded. Now, the staffing shortage has worsened into a shutdown of check-in counters and disruptions across the airport, as Authority management, workers, and the Histadrut blame one another for the situation.