Pirate radio disrupts B-G traffic, again

Flights disrupted for 2nd time in a week; planes land in 10-minute intervals.

By JPOST STAFF, MATT KRIEGER
Ben Gurion 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Ben Gurion 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Flight traffic resumed at Ben-Gurion International Airport Thursday afternoon after pirate radio transmissions once again caused interference at the control tower, forcing the airport to halt traffic, Israel Radio reported. According to the report, the pirate radio transmissions began at around 11:00 a.m., and were disrupting communication between the control tower and pilots. Flights were reportedly being allowed to land at intervals of 10 minutes. Last week, a similar occurrence took place, with pirate radio transmissions grounding flights for several hours. Following the disruption, the Israel Airport Workers Union threatened a day-long strike. However, the strike was averted after the union acceded to a request by Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz to give police more time to resolve the situation. "We don't want to be responsible for the loss of life," Pinhas Idan, chairman of the Israel Airport Workers union said last week, before the cancellation of the strike.