Ben Gurion Airport declared a crisis situation on Thursday as operational difficulties brought the country’s busiest aviation hub to a near standstill. All check-in desks were forced to close, whilst the airport also struggled with aircraft loading and unloading procedures, and faced a severe shortage of parking spaces for planes.
The timing of the disruption could hardly be worse, coinciding with the peak summer holiday season when passenger volumes are at their highest. The crisis represents a significant blow to Israel’s transport infrastructure and is likely to affect thousands of travellers attempting to depart or arrive at the airport.
The situation has been further complicated by the absence of Transport Minister Miri Regev, who is currently overseas on what her office describes as a private visit. Regev departed for Morocco on Wednesday, taking with her several senior officials from her ministry, including Moshe Ben Zaken, the ministry director-general, Aidan Moalem, head of public transport, and Nissim Peretz, chief executive of Israel Railways.

Source: Walla News — Original article in Hebrew.