ABU DHABI
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport began gradually resuming takeoffs and landings at 3 pm local time (1200GMT) Thursday – roughly one hour after operations were halted amid a labor dispute, Israeli media reported.
The Israel Airports Authority said operations were being gradually restored in accordance with a reorganized flight schedule, according to Israel’s Ynet news portal.
Passengers, meanwhile, have been urged to remain in contact with their respective airlines and check their flight times for possible schedule changes.
Airport operations had been halted roughly one hour earlier after a labor dispute had caused all check-in counters to close.
Several flights en route to Tel Aviv had been forced to turn around and return to their countries of origin as operations at the airport were scaled down due to the closure of check-in counters.
Employees of four ground-services companies that operate at the airport had also reportedly halted work.
The disruptions came during one of the busiest periods of the year, when the airport handles approximately 100,000 passengers – and around 600 flights – per day.
According to the Israel Airports Authority, the decision to halt work – in line with instructions from a workers’ committee – impacted the airport’s operations and affected passenger services.
The Airports Authority called on employees to immediately end the work stoppage with a view to restoring operations and services.
It also had warned that if the disruptions continued, it would seek intervention by judicial authorities.
Israeli Transportation Ministry officials had also warned that airport employees could be dismissed if the work stoppage was found to be part of a deliberate slowdown, according to Ynet.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev instructed his ministry’s director-general, Moshe Ben Zaken, to immediately address the situation.
