Senior official at Ben Gurion Airport warns of unusual chaos: "A 40-minute delay is not dramatic"

The summer season is in full swing, and Ben Gurion Airport is dealing with heavy passenger congestion daily. This week is expected to be one of the busiest, with over 100,000 passengers passing through in a single day.

The Israel Airports Authority workers' union is warning of a significant manpower shortage that could severely impact flight schedules. According to the union, the situation is particularly complex due to the current security climate and the ongoing war.

Pinchas Idan, chairman of the Israel Airports Authority workers' union, presented the full picture in a conversation with PassportNews:

"On paper, they say there is no shortage of workers, but they forget to mention that 40 employees in the operations department are on reserve duty, and another 40 are injured or ill. Bottom line, we are missing a hundred workers," said Idan.

According to him, the shortage is felt across all sectors of the airport. "To the credit of the management, they are doing everything to recruit, but unfortunately, it is not very successful. In the meantime, workers are stepping up and moving between sectors to fill the gaps," he described.

"It is difficult to prepare in such an unusual year. It takes only a few missiles to shut everything down again and cause airlines to stop flying here. In such a situation, we have to send workers on unpaid leave again, which is why people are not rushing to work here, and the Authority's management is acting cautiously in hiring new employees," he added, describing the crisis behind the scenes.

In conclusion, Idan appealed to the traveling public for patience:

"We are at the peak of the summer season, in July-August, and congestion is natural. Is a 40-minute delay dramatic? Not all flights depart late. I suggest that passengers arrive at the airport earlier, equip themselves with patience, and in the end, everyone leaves, even if there is a delay of an hour."

As recalled, recent days have seen numerous flight disruptions due to a technical failure in the European radar system, which prevented dozens of flights from departing and caused widespread delays affecting Israel as well.