IATA issues ranking warning to Israel
International Air Transport Association warns it may follow US Federal Aviation Administration, downgrade Israel’s aviation safety ranking. Should decision materialize, EU airport may refuse Israeli planes' landing
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has informed Israeli airlines that they must upgrade their safety and security measure, or risk being turned away from European Union airports.
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The Transportation Ministry said that the announcement was not an official one, but rather a memorandum sent to El-Al, Arkia and Israir, as well as to the Israel Airport Authority.
The IATA, added the ministry, did not threaten to bar Israeli airlines in any way, but rather simply asked them to put a new emphasis on safety, following Israel's recent FAA aviation downgrade.
The US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Israel’s aviation safety ranking in late November, following an inspection which revealed what the FAA defined as “severe security shortcomings in Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority.”
The FAA report found several security defects at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, prompting it to categorize Israel’s aviation security in the same bracket as Third World countries.
IATA is an international trade body, which represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of the world's scheduled international air traffic. Should it decide to downgrades Israel’s aviation safety as well, the move will immediately translate into stricter inspections of any Israeli plane landing in Europe and larger insurance fees, which will inevitably mean a spike in flight rates.
Another potential problem is that the safety ranking may affect Israel's code share agreement with various European airlines the likes of Austrian Airlines, Swissair and Brussels Airlines.
Amos Lapidot, former Israeli Air Force Commander who heads the public committee appointed to investigate aviation safety in Israel, and had previously alerted both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Transportation Ministry to the many deficiencies he found, told Ynet that since the FAA's decision, "Israel has been investing in infrastructure, landing strips and improving air space safety, but it's going to take a few more years."
International aviation safety codes are similar, he added, "and the FAA and the IATA usually synchronize their decisions to an extent. If the IATA follows through on its warning, it would have significant ramifications."
