Crisis at Ben-Gurion: who bears the main responsibility — an assessment

An authorial analysis of the crisis at Ben-Gurion Airport places the primary responsibility on Transport Minister Miri Regev, rather than on her vacation in Morocco. The key problem is identified as her relationship with the Airports Authority union, which, according to the author, has been allowed to effectively run the airport. Regev's personnel decisions, delays in building an alternative airport, and lack of reforms over her four years in office are mentioned.

An authorial analysis of the crisis at Ben-Gurion Airport, based on a Walla publication, places the primary responsibility on Transport Minister Miri Regev. Contrary to expectations, the main problem is identified not as her vacation in Morocco after her success in the Likud primaries, but her long-term policy regarding the Airports Authority and its union. Union chairman Pinchas Idan, a longtime Likud activist, stated that there was no strike, but rather a shortage of workers after a nine-hour shift. The author notes that the airport serves about 100,000 people per day, only slightly exceeding pre-pandemic summer 2019 figures, and questions the explanation of the crisis as solely due to high traffic. Criticism of Regev includes her personnel decisions: firing the previous CEO and appointing Yiftah Ron-Tal, who is close to Netanyahu. She is also accused of delaying the construction of an additional airport and supporting the union, which, according to the author, has been allowed to effectively run the country's main airport. The author calls the strike at the height of the season 'Israeli chutzpah' and concludes that without tough management measures and reforms, such crises will recur.