The head of the Israel Airports Authority, Yiftach Ron-Tal, launched an attack on the strike that paralyzed Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, describing it as "bullying behavior" and vowing to take legal and administrative action against those responsible.
Ron Tal, in an interview with Radio 103F, said he regretted the distress and harm caused to the passengers, stressing that these actions could not be justified, and emphasizing that the measures taken would be legal and administrative.
He warned that the continuation of such practices would lead to an escalation in relations between management and workers, but at the same time stressed that employees work hard under difficult conditions and do not deserve to be directed in this way, describing them as "excellent".
Ron Tal pointed to structural problems at the airport, describing the organizational structure as an "inverted pyramid," where temporary workers outnumber permanent ones, creating an operational imbalance, but he rejected the workers' committee's claims of a shortage of 400 baggage handlers.
He considered this number inaccurate, denying that the workers work 15 consecutive hours, stressing that the working hours are 12 hours with rest periods between trips, and indicating that the change will come despite its difficulty, because the administration has no option but to fix the situation.
Despite the tension, Ron Tal confirmed that the airport had returned to normal operations, and that management was working to fill the gaps caused by the cancellation of 16 flights, noting that the airport was operating at full capacity. He expressed his determination to carry out radical reforms in the 50-year-old power structure, even if it required conflict with the workers, because change had become an unavoidable necessity.
