Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv temporarily suspended check-in and flight handling on Thursday after an unscheduled labour action by airport workers disrupted arrivals, departures and ground operations. The stoppage affected Israel’s main international gateway and quickly rippled through European and regional schedules, with some flights forced to circle or turn back while the airport moved to restore services later in the day.
The Israel Airports Authority moved to resume landings and take-offs gradually from 15:00 local time after operations were paused for about an hour in one account. Workers’ complaints centred on workload and staffing, while airlines serving Tel Aviv were left to adjust to updated timings and knock-on delays. Among the affected services were Air France’s AF966 and Lufthansa’s LH686, which turned back over Turkey during the disruption. Check-in counters also closed during the stoppage, leaving passengers facing long queues and significant uncertainty before services restarted.