Due to disruptions: El Al flight cancelled at the last minute while passengers were on board
The chaos at Ben Gurion Airport continues to affect international flights. An El Al flight from New York, scheduled for Friday morning, was cancelled after boarding due to concerns that the flight would arrive in Israel during the Sabbath.
The chaos at Ben Gurion Airport continues to affect flights arriving in Israel from abroad. An El Al flight from New York, which was supposed to take off this morning (Friday), was cancelled after passengers had already boarded the plane, due to concerns that the flight would be delayed and arrive in Israel during the Sabbath.
This incident illustrates how the disruptions and delays at Ben Gurion Airport do not only affect passengers within Israel. Travelers abroad are also forced to deal with the consequences of schedule changes, when a departure delay from New York could affect the landing time in Israel.
In this case, the flight was supposed to depart this morning, but due to concerns that it would not arrive in Israel before the start of the Sabbath, it was decided not to operate the flight.
The decision was made after the passengers were already inside the plane with their luggage; they were required to disembark following the cancellation. El Al does not operate flights during the Sabbath, and therefore significant delays on Friday create major operational problems regarding arrival times.
The incident comes against the backdrop of one of the busiest days recorded at Ben Gurion Airport in August, with over 100,000 passengers expected to pass through. The disruptions, combined with the usual summer season load, led to schedule changes that are increasingly felt outside of Israel as well.
For passengers, this means that even a flight outside of Israel may change at the last minute due to developments at Ben Gurion Airport. In this instance, passengers were forced to disembark and postpone their travel.
Additionally, the company announced that due to concerns regarding delays or baggage handling issues resulting from the strike of Ben Gurion Airport workers, El Al will allow any customer who chooses not to fly today to receive a voucher for future use, even though these disruptions are not the responsibility of the airline.
