In solidarity with the Israel Broadcasting Authority, the Histadrut announced a series of worker's strikes on Sunday at Ben Gurion Airport, the Haifa and Ashdod seaports, all border crossings, Bailiff's Offices and more.
The strike was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. with 17 departures and 18 arrivals supposed to be affected by the disruption.
The Israel Airports Authority has advised passengers to check the flight schedule for any changes. It also filed an appeal Saturday night with the Labor Court claiming the planned strike will cause significant harm to the public.
On Sunday, the Labor Court ruled that while staff at IAA offices may strike for the scheduled two hours, workers on shift at the airport may only strike between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. That ruling, however, appears to have been ignored.
Several airlines, including El AL, have already begun pushing up flights which is likely to cause heavy traffic at the airport on a day when close to 70,000 people are expected to pass through it.
Sunday morning will be especially busy as 46 flights are expected to take off within the span of only three hours.
So far, three flights have been confirmed as being pushed forward while another was delayed:
- Flight 007 to New York will leave at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10:40 a.m.
- Flight 315 to London will take off at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10:15 a.m.
- Flight 321 to Marseilles will leave at 9:30 a.m. instead of 9:55 a.m.
- and Flight 577 to Bucharest will take off at 1:00 p.m. instead of 11:25 a.m.
The strikes were announced in solidarity with the IBA, which is currently struggling against a law authorizing the dismissal of a majority of its employees.
"The Histadrut is not opposed to reform, but to unilateral and aggressive conduct based on the facts on the ground," chairman Avi Nissenkorn said, explaining the reason for the strikes.