"The nightmare scenario tonight, of a plane with hundreds of passengers having to make an emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport, serves as a warning light for all of us and obliges us to guard the security traffic arteries at Ben Gurion Airport," says Central District Commander Major General Avi Biton, who calls on the protest organizers: "Show responsibility so that no disaster will happen that we will regret."
At a meeting of the command staff on Sunday morning, the Central Command Center addressed the protest expected tomorrow at Ben Gurion Airport, with an emphasis on the operational response of all the emergency and rescue agencies to the scenario that materialized tonight, in which a plane with 339 people was required to make an emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport, stressing: "The traffic arteries in the Ben Gurion Airport area are defined as emergency routes and must be left available to the rescue forces at all times."
As mentioned, tonight (between Saturday and Sunday) a state of emergency was declared at Ben Gurion Airport after the window of a United plane was broken. There were 339 people on board. MDA and the rest of the rescue forces were dispatched. Finally, after long minutes of anxiety, the plane landed safely.
At the end of the discussion, the CBI noted that the Israel Police sees the right to protest as a cornerstone of a democratic state, and therefore we allow every citizen to exercise his basic right to demonstrate. However, he emphasized that there is special significance to Ben Gurion Airport's routes, where an attempt to block these routes is liable to delay the arrival of emergency rescue forces and thus endanger tens of thousands more on flights taking off and landing at the airport every day.
As stated, the police will allow protest participants to demonstrate in the area, but will not allow roads to be blocked, and any attempt to disrupt traffic in the area and bypass routes will be enforced with zero patience out of responsibility for public safety.
The police ask the traveling public to arrive at and from the airport early by train.
According to the plan announced in advance by the protesting organizations, the protest is expected to return to Ben Gurion Airport this coming Monday, during the busiest time of the year. The protesters plan to report to the airport gates at 17:30 p.m., which could affect evening flights at the airport.
In the evening and at night, quite a few large flights depart, including to the United States, and if the protest there continues for a long time and affects passenger traffic, there may be significant delays and disruptions that can drag on for many hours.
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