Ben Gurion Airport Union Chief Denies Responsibility for Shutdown as Netanyahu Seeks to Expel Him from Likud

What happened

Israel Airports Authority workers' union chairman Pinchas Idan appeared on Kan News on Saturday evening, rejecting claims that he bore responsibility for the shutdown at Ben-Gurion Airport. Speaking on the program "At Seven with Ayala Hasson," Idan said, "The airport manager is the one who closed Ben-Gurion Airport," and added that all events were documented and filmed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu filed an urgent petition with the Likud party's Supreme Court seeking to terminate Idan's membership, alleging that the union chairman led a "political and illegal shutdown" intended to harm Transportation Minister Miri Regev, the prime minister, and the Likud party. Idan denied the allegations and said he had never received anything from Likud. Asked whether disruptions could continue into the following week, he said, "I don't promise anything."

Idan said the incident began after unusual pressure was placed on baggage handlers, with a team that began work at 3 a.m. required to continue until 3 p.m., prompting workers to request to leave because of exhaustion. He denied sabotaging Minister Regev's flight, saying he personally helped load her plane alongside Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ron Tal. He said he intends to seek a court injunction to enforce a contractual limit preventing baggage handlers from working 12-hour shifts, citing safety concerns for workers whose average age is 40 to 50 and who have worked for 20 to 30 years.

Israel's Finance Ministry estimated in an initial assessment that the economic damage from the disruptions amounted to NIS 25 million to NIS 30 million, covering passengers' lost time, airline costs, lost revenues for the Israel Airports Authority and airport operators, and damage to air cargo and supply chains. According to union data, Ben-Gurion Airport faces a shortage of approximately 400 to 500 employees across all divisions: baggage sorting is short about 100 workers, ground handling about 80, and the security division is missing between 200 and 300 personnel. Existing employees are working between 220 and 260 hours per month.

Industry impact & what to watch

This dispute sits at the intersection of labor conditions and political conflict at a country's principal international gateway, where a staffing shortfall on the ramp and in security can escalate into a shutdown that reaches far beyond the airport fence. When baggage handlers, ground crews and security staff are stretched across 220 to 260 hours a month for years, a single flashpoint over shift length is enough to halt operations.

Airport labor markets in this segment run on thin staffing margins precisely because handling and security roles are hard to backfill quickly; a union citing a 400 to 500 person shortfall across baggage, ground handling and security is describing a structural gap, not a one-off. That gap is what turns an ordinary fatigue complaint into a shutdown with an economy-wide price tag.

The court proceeding over Idan's Likud membership and his stated intent to seek an injunction on 12-hour shifts are the two threads to track: the injunction, if granted, would set an enforceable limit on shift length that outlasts this dispute, while the political proceeding determines whether the union's leadership itself becomes the next flashpoint.