{"id":260658,"date":"2026-08-22T23:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/260658\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T23:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:31:13","slug":"ben-gurion-airport-union-chief-pinchas-idan-denies-role-in-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/260658\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Gurion Airport union chief Pinchas Idan denies role in shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following severe disruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport<\/a> and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s move to end his Likud membership, Israel Airports Authority workers\u2019 union chairman Pinchas Idan appeared Saturday evening on Kan News\u2019 \u201cAt Seven with Ayala Hasson\u201d program, rejecting claims that he was responsible for the airport shutdown.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu filed an urgent petition with the Likud\u2019s Supreme Court demanding that Idan\u2019s membership in the party be terminated. The petition alleged that the union chairman led a \u201cpolitical and illegal shutdown\u201d intended to harm Transportation Minister Miri Regev, the prime minister, and the Likud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never received anything from the Likud in my life,\u201d Idan said during the interview, reiterating: \u201cThe airport manager is the one who closed Ben-Gurion Airport.\u201d Asked whether the situation could continue into next week, he responded: \u201cI don\u2019t promise anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dispute follows hours of chaos at Ben-Gurion Airport<\/p>\n

The dispute over responsibility for the disruptions follows hours of chaos at the airport. Although Ben-Gurion Airport gradually returned to normal operations, the effects of the disruption could continue even after baggage conveyors and flights resume regular activity. The Finance Ministry<\/a> estimated in an initial assessment that the damage caused to the economy stands at NIS 25 million to NIS 30 million.<\/p>\n

The estimate includes passengers\u2019 lost time, costs incurred by airlines, lost revenues for the Israel Airports Authority and airport operators, and damage to air cargo and supply chains.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew member of the Likud party Pinchas Idan, arrives to the Elections committee at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem March 5, 2019. (credit: NOAM REVKIN FENTON\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n

Idan also addressed claims that the disruptions were connected to his position within the workers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy situation in the union is not complicated; temporary workers vote like veteran workers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said the incident began after unusual pressure was placed on baggage handlers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened is that a team of baggage handlers who started at 3 a.m. had to work until 3 p.m. They asked to go home because they felt like they were falling off their feet. I repeat, we were not the ones who shut down the airport; everything is documented, and everything is filmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Event triggers renewed questions about airport staffing<\/p>\n

The disruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport<\/a> also renewed questions about staffing levels at the airport, which operates under heavy summer pressure. When airport operations are disrupted, aircraft and crews move away from their planned locations, passengers must be reassigned to different flights, and delays can continue even after operations resume.<\/p>\n

Idan said he intends to take legal action over baggage handlers\u2019 working hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to court to obtain an injunction that, according to the agreement, baggage handlers cannot work 12 hours,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it safe for a baggage worker to wake up at 2:00 a.m., arrive at a shift at 3:00 a.m., and work 12 hours? The average age is 40 to 50 after 20 and 30 years of work; their backs already hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the interview, Idan also addressed reports claiming that he sabotaged Transportation Minister Miri Regev\u2019s flight, denying the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loaded the minister\u2019s plane together with Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ron Tal. The baggage handlers are very, very busy these days; they work 12 hours and do not have time for a glass of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after Ben-Gurion Airport returned to activity, the incident is expected to continue having operational and political consequences. Alongside efforts to deal with delayed flights and schedule changes, Netanyahu\u2019s petition against Idan has now moved the dispute to the Likud\u2019s court, while the union chairman continues to insist that responsibility for closing the airport was never in his hands.<\/p>\n

According to data from the Israel Airports Authority<\/a> workers\u2019 union, Ben-Gurion Airport currently faces a shortage of approximately 400 to 500 employees across all divisions. The union said baggage sorting is short about 100 workers, ground handling is short about 80, and the security division is missing between 200 and 300 inspectors and security personnel. In addition, dozens of employees are absent because of reserve duty, illness, injury, and workplace accidents.<\/p>\n

The union says the shortage has continued for months and that existing employees must work between 220 and 260 hours per month. It warned that without immediate action, it will be difficult to provide proper service to passengers during peak travel periods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following severe disruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s move to end his Likud membership, Israel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[539,41,543,37,7213,17039],"class_list":["post-260658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-ben-gurion-airport","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-flights","tag-israel","tag-israel-airports-authority","tag-likud-party"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117141771851635788","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}