Following the declaration of a countrywide strike by Israel's national trade union center, the Histadrut, Tel Aviv Ben Gurin International Airport (TLV) has suspended all outbound flights from the airport. After a nationwide general strike request from Histadrut, the Israel Airport Authority's Board Chairman Pinchas Idan delivered the declaration. Aircraft will still be able to land at TLV for the time being.
According to data from flightradar24.com, only planes heading to Germany have been canceled as of right now. Germany is also suffering a national strike by its unions, which is impacting airport operations all around the nation. Many flights were also delayed at the same time, including Wizz Air flight W68430 from Tel Aviv to Naples (NAP), which was supposed to leave at 11:05 local time (UTC +3) but didn't take off until 11:50. At 11:44 AM, airplane eventually took off.
According to data viewed at the time of publication on flightradar.com, Ryanair flight FR5813 from Tel Aviv to Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO) was scheduled to depart at 11:30 AM local time but did not do so. Delta Air Lines flight DL249 from the Israeli capital to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) has been delayed from 11:30 AM local time to 12:30 PM local time. Arnon Bar-David, the Histadrut chairman, declared a general strike on March 27, 2023, citing the firing of Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as evidence that "last night, all red lines were crossed." On March 26, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant.
In a late-day Facebook post on March 25, 2023, Gallant opposed the country's legal reforms, claiming that a "growing split in society penetrates the IDF [Israeli Defense Force - ed. note] and the security bodies" of Israel. "For the safety of Israel, for our children, we must halt the legislative process at this time and permit the Israeli people to observe Passover and Independence Day together, as well as Memorial Day and Holocaust Memorial Day. We observe these days as sacred ones, the former defense minister continued.