"The enemy has not achieved his objective. The enemy will not achieve his objective. Despite the restriction, civil aviation to Israel is continuing almost as scheduled," Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz told "Globes" at noon today. "Our goal is to provide backing and bolster the endurance of the fighters in the field. We'll do all we can to ensure that civil aviation to Israel continues as normally and orderly as possible." Katz added that all the passengers seeking to reach Israel who had been stranded overseas by the decision on the part of US and European airlines not to fly to Ben Gurion Airport would arrive by midnight.
The Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are expecting an announcement this afternoon that regular aviation activity will be resumed. Meanwhile, the Israeli airlines - El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL), Arkia Airlines Ltd., and Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. - are working at a faster pace, flying to more destinations, and hiring more crews. The 20 foreign airlines still flying to and from Israel are also increasing their flights. Ministry of Transport director general Uzi Yitzhaki said that as of noon, 65% of the traffic to Israel was on schedule.
Allegations of poor judgment
The event began yesterday at 5 PM Israeli time, when two US airlines, Delta Airlines and US Airlines, announced they were discontinuing their flights to Israel. An hour later, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the flights would be shut down for 24 hours. A conference call took place that night between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Katz, Israel Civil Aviation Authority director general Giora Romm, and FAA heads. Netanyahu also discussed the matter with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who flew to Israel today and landed at Ben Gurion Airport. Romm also spoke with Frank Brenner, director general of Eurocontrol, which is responsible for civil aviation in the EU. The FAA promised to convene today and give Israel an answer by the afternoon, Israel time. Eurocontrol said it would convene in the late afternoon; its decision will probably depend on the FAA's decision.
During the day, several Israeli sources alleged that the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority had shown poor judgment by not closing Ben Gurion Airport voluntarily as soon as they heard the first report that the US airlines were halting their flights to Israel, primarily for insurance reasons, after a missile hit Yehud. It is claimed that in the 1.5-2 hours preceding the US announcement, Israel could have closed the airport for a while in order to avoid the precedent of a foreign decision, possibly even a political one, to enforce cancellation of flights. No foreign decision to close Israel's skies has been made since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the FAA has not enforced a ban on flights.
Yitzhaki told "Globes," "There was and is no reason to close the airport. Ben Gurion Airport has a very high level of security protection, one of the best in the world. We saw, and still see, no problem, and there was therefore no intention of restricting traffic to and from Israel. Anyone who says we should have closed the airport ahead of the US announcement is the one who is giving in to our enemies. It's important to us that things continue as usual, including traffic to and from Israel. Anyone who thinks a voluntary shutdown would have been worthwhile should take his bags and get out."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 23, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014