After hours of chaos, Ben Gurion International Airport will resume normal operations at 3:00 p.m. local time on Thursday afternoon.
The airport had closed at 2:00 p.m. after employees began a surprise strike that closed check-in counters and later brought arrivals to a stop.
Employees were instructed to stop working, and the four companies providing ground services at Ben Gurion Airport halted passenger handling. As a result, the airport was declared closed at 2:00 p.m.
The sanctions come during the airport's busiest period of the year. Nearly 100,000 passengers are currently passing through Ben Gurion Airport each day on approximately 600 flights.
Early reports said that the employees were carrying out a work-to-rule strike, which has brought operations at the check-in counters to a halt. At this stage, no details have been provided regarding the dispute that led to the crisis or when regular operations may resume.
The Transportation Workers' Union in the Histadrut responded: "We did not issue any directive to cease work. The attempt to present the chaos at Ben Gurion as the result of a 'surprise strike' is misleading and directs attention away from the real failure: A severe and ongoing shortage of manpower, and a lack of adequate preparation for summer congestion."
Zohar Snor, who landed at the airport, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that "no one is announcing anything here. There are no explanations, there are no announcements - it's all speculation. Everyone is trying to understand what is happening through the news sites."
She added, "I saw stewards and staff members who are waiting just like we are. No one knows what is happening, and no one is explaining."
The Airports Authority said that it is "currently dealing with disruptions at work, at the instruction of the Workers Committee, which impact operational activity and the service to travelers." The Authority demanded that employees "immediately cease all action which could harm regular work and bring operations fully back to routine."
"The Authority takes every seriously any deliberate action which could harm civilian travelers and proper operations at Ben Gurion International Airport, especially during the summer congestion period and the expanded scale of operations." The statement stressed that if operations do not resume, they will urgently petition the Labor Court to demand intervention.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev is currently on a private vacation in Morocco, and the strike comes just one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Ben Gurion Airport.
Responding to the strike, she ordered the Airports Authority to immediately petition the Labor Court against the Workers Committee, with the aim of ending the strike. She also called the strike "bullying," warning, "Whoever made the decision to take the citizens of Israel hostage will pay the price."
Transportation Ministry Director General Moshe Ben Zaken responded to the strike, saying: "We are investigating the incident. We are in the peak season, with refueling personnel present, but if the investigation finds that there is a work-to-rule strike, we will take very harsh action against whoever is behind this."