Disruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport continue with missing baggage, canceled flights

Thousands of Israelis landed abroad over the past 24 hours for expensive vacations they had eagerly prepared for months, without clothes and personal belongings due to Thursday's surprise strike.

The chaos at Ben-Gurion Airport continued on Friday, while the Histadrut labor federation and the Airport Authority Workers' Union continued to deny responsibility for Thursday's surprise strike.

Although the Israel Airports Authority announced yesterday that, following a meeting between Israel Airports Authority (IAA) Chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftah Ron Tal, CEO Sharon Kedmi, and workers’ committee chairman Pinchas Idan, employees were returning to full operations, thousands of passengers’ suitcases remained at the airport. 

The luggage either was not loaded onto flights leaving Israel or was not transferred to passengers who had landed.

Thousands of Israelis landed abroad over the past 24 hours for expensive vacations they had planned for months, without clothes or personal belongings. It remains unclear whether their luggage will be sent to their destinations.

In addition, disruptions in the delivery of luggage to passengers continued throughout Friday, with some reporting waits of three hours for their baggage.

Flights delayed throughout Friday due to Thursday's interruptions

Many El Al flights are landing today one to two hours late, as a result of the delays in departures yesterday due to the workers’ disruptions.

In one case, the departure of flight LY008 from New York to Ben-Gurion was canceled after passengers had already boarded the plane, after the airline concluded that it would land in Israel after the start of Shabbat. The passengers were transferred to hotels at El Al’s expense.

Two other flights from New York were scheduled to land after 4 p.m., meaning Shabbat-observant passengers had to choose between waiting for their luggage and trying to get home before Shabbat, or simply sleeping at the airport.

Arkia announced on Friday morning that “following the Ben-Gurion Airport workers’ strike, significant delays have occurred in the flight schedule, both on flights departing from Israel and on flights making their way to Ben-Gurion Airport. As a result, there may be flights that will not manage to take off or land before the start of Shabbat.”

Arkia said passengers who do not want to fly because of the schedule changes will receive flight vouchers for future use. Arkia advised passengers to check its website for flight-time updates before arriving at the airport.