The protest against the legal reform is expected to return to Ben Gurion Airport tomorrow (Monday), this time at the peak of the tourist season, on a day when about 90,<> passengers are supposed to pass through the site.
According to data from the Israel Airports Authority, between 17:00 and midnight tomorrow, about a third of the daily number of passengers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport, which means that the protest may affect the flights of about 30,<> passengers.
A guide page published on behalf of the demonstrators states that the scheduled arrival time at Ben Gurion Airport tomorrow is 17:30 P.M. It added that the demonstrators planned to arrive with suitcases containing, among other things, a passport, protest shirts and flags. The instruction page suggests that demonstrators arrive by train at Ben Gurion Airport station or arrive by car at the main entrance at Ben Gurion Airport and travel slowly, in a way that will not endanger traffic. The guidance page also states that you can park in the parking lot and exit to Terminal 3. As you may recall, Ben Gurion Airport is dealing with a shortage of parking spaces and it is possible that a large number of parking spaces in the parking lots there will affect finding parking for passengers.
Minister Ben-Gvir ahead of the protest at Ben Gurion Airport: "Paralyzing the airport is a blow to state security"
An internal email from one of the groups of employees at Ben Gurion Airport stated that there is concern that the protest group will also try to provoke protest against the airspace at Ben Gurion Airport by means of demonstrators who will arrive with plane tickets. It is important to note that the police are preparing for such a possibility.
The Airports Authority asked the various companies operating at Ben Gurion Airport to allow early arrival of workers due to the protest. The police are expected to deploy about 800 officers throughout Ben Gurion Airport, and at the moment it is unclear whether they will prevent demonstrators from accessing the terminal.
Passengers who are supposed to fly in the evening, in parallel with the protest, may encounter congestion and difficulties in reaching Ben Gurion Airport, as the protest develops and if it spills over into areas that also affect proper work order at the airport.
Demonstration at Ben Gurion Airport against the legal reform, last March,
Earlier today, it was reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in closed conversations with senior police officials regarding the demonstration that preventive action against the organizers of the expected protest at Ben Gurion Airport should be examined. "The entire spectrum of means must be examined and exhausted according to the law. I ask that the police speak clearly to the public about the measures that will be taken against those who block the road, including towing vehicles."
Amnon Cohen, Acting Director General of the Israel Airports Authority, said that Ben Gurion Airport is a place with very high operational sensitivity that directly affects human life. "The airport can become in seconds a place where emergency procedure is in place, on which hundreds of lives depend," he said. "Last night, we saw proof of this again, when a state of emergency was declared due to a broken window inside an airplane, and dozens of ambulances, emergency vehicles, rescue and security vehicles were dispatched to the airport from all over the Dan region and Jerusalem. If, God forbid, the airport was blocked and the entrance to it was jammed, the security and rescue forces would not be able to quickly enter the airport and prepare accordingly, and we could have been in an event with hundreds of dead and wounded. Ben Gurion Airport is a place with first-class operational sensitivity. Blocking it, no matter what the reason, could end in an international catastrophe, so it must not be blocked."
The delays on the way? Flight schedule in the departure hall at Ben Gurion Airport (archive), photo: Coco
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