Staff Shortages Cause Flight Delays at Ben Gurion Airport Ahead of Peak Travel Day

Ben Gurion Airport is bracing for severe disruptions ahead of Thursday's peak travel day, as airlines report a severe shortage of baggage handling staff. The labor shortage in the ground handling crews has already caused significant flight delays since Tuesday morning.

This latest update follows a night of heavy delays at security checkpoints, which was also attributed to a shortage of security personnel. Airport employees told N12 that the temporary reinforcements brought in by management following the major disruptions in August have ended, leaving the staff shortage highly visible and impactful.

On August 20, airport workers launched a surprise strike, causing unprecedented disruptions at Ben Gurion Airport and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in extreme overcrowding and long lines. Although an agreement was reached to end the strike by 3:00 PM that day, the chaos persisted late into the night, and numerous flights departed without any luggage because there were no workers available to load the bags.