Ben Gurion Airport could face another round of serious disruptions unless its staffing shortage is addressed, Israel Airports Authority union chairman Pinchas Idan warned, refusing to assure travelers that the turmoil that rocked the airport this week will not happen again.
Idan spoke publicly for the first time since Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu moved to expel him from the Likud party over the airport chaos. In an interview with Kan News, the union leader made clear that he believes the underlying problems that triggered the breakdown remain unresolved.
Asked whether travelers could be confident that operations would proceed normally next week, Idan pointed directly to what he described as a severe shortage of personnel. “I promise nothing,” he said.
Idan strongly disputed allegations that the workers’ committee deliberately launched a strike that paralyzed operations at Israel’s main international airport. Instead, he said airport management made the decision to halt operations.
“It wasn’t me who shut down Ben Gurion Airport, but the airport manager. Everything is documented and filmed,” he said.
According to Idan, the upheaval stemmed from an unsustainable workload being imposed on baggage handlers, some of whom had already been working for many hours when they said they were physically unable to continue.
“There are workers who started their shift at 3:00 a.m. and were supposed to work until the afternoon. They asked to go home because they felt they couldn’t stand on their feet,” he explained.
Idan said he intends to take the issue to court in an effort to prevent baggage handlers from being required to work 12-hour shifts, arguing that such schedules raise legitimate concerns about employee health and safety.
“Is it safe for an employee to wake up at two in the morning, arrive at work at three, and work 12 hours? The average age of the workers is 40 to 50, after decades of work. My back hurts for them,” he said.
The union chief also addressed Netanyahu’s decision to remove him from Likud, showing little concern about losing his place in the ruling party.
“I haven’t received anything in my life from Likud,” he said, while denying accusations that the airport disruptions were driven by political considerations.
Idan separately rejected reports that he intentionally interfered with Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s flight during the turmoil.
“I myself loaded the minister’s plane together with Brigadier General Ron Tal. The porters work around the clock; they don’t even have time to drink a glass of water,” he said.
Netanyahu announced Idan’s removal from Likud following the extraordinary scenes at Ben Gurion Airport, accusing the union chairman of responsibility for a “wild and unlawful strike” that caused widespread harm to Israeli travelers and the country’s economy.
Idan, however, continues to maintain that no strike took place. He insists that airport management was forced to scale back operations because of a serious manpower shortage — a problem he says the workers’ representatives had repeatedly warned officials about well before this week’s crisis erupted.
With Idan now unwilling to guarantee that normal operations will continue, the dispute leaves travelers facing renewed uncertainty and raises the prospect that the scenes witnessed at Ben Gurion Airport this week could be repeated if the staffing dispute remains unresolved.
{Matzav.com}
