Israeli Aviators blocked the Runway and Paralysed Ben Gurion Airport , in a protest to the Covid-19 virus rules !

Israeli airline workers on Thursday staged a demonstration at the Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv to express their dissatisfaction with the distressful work environment and low payment, influenced by the Covid-19 virus rules .

At Ben Gurion Airport, protesters marched on the taxiways and runways and waved signs with the messages :

“We are being thrown out of the plane without a parachute,” “If there is no Israeli aviation foreign companies also won’t land here,” "The government is abandoning Israeli aviation,"

From 10 am to 12 am local time, hundreds of employees of Israel's major airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia halted their work and demonstrated at the airport, according to statements issued by Israeli largest worker union Histadrut with photos and videos.

The demonstrators claim that there has been severe employment distress in the Israeli aviation industry since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, the statement said.

Israeli Aviators protest against COVID-19 regulations at Ben Gurion Airport (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90).

Thousands of aviation workers have been laid off or put on unpaid leave since the crisis began, and many have not yet returned to work and fear for their job security ahead of the Jewish New Year in early September, it added.

“We want the government to know how to support the workers in [the aviation industry] when it decides to close the sky,” transport union chief Avi Edri said at the protest. “It is unthinkable to have destinations closed off without support given to companies or payment to workers,” he said.

Edri called on the government to provide financial support to workers and warned that if there is no improvement, more of the country’s unions may join the protests.

“There is no problem with the government closing the sky, but there are people, and you cannot cut off their livelihoods,” he said.“Workers are financially collapsing and where are the decision-makers?” Sharon Ben-Itzhak, a member of the El Al employee committee, told the Ynet website.

Workers of the Israel Airports Authority, which operates the airport, joined the demonstrations to show solidarity, according to a statement issued by Israel Airports Authority.

Due to the protests, more than 10 takeoffs were postponed, and baggages were not unloaded from aircrafts at gates . The airport remained paralysed for around two-hours during the demonstration. 

Picture : איגוד הטייסים הישראלי