A day after the strike at Ben Gurion Airport and the severe disruptions, the terminal was relatively calm Friday afternoon. But behind the quiet, some passengers were still dealing with the fallout from Thursday’s events. Families returned to the airport after their flights were canceled following hours of delays, hoping to locate luggage they had checked the previous day. Some had already purchased new tickets on other flights, while others still did not know when — or whether — they would be able to take the vacation they had planned.
Noam and his father, Roni Sipin, were among the 100,000 passengers who passed through Ben Gurion Airport Friday. But they came only to try to retrieve their family’s luggage. They had been scheduled to fly to Budapest Thursday at 6:50 p.m., but the flight was repeatedly delayed and ultimately never departed.
“There’s no one to talk to here. Nobody is communicating, nothing,” Noam said. According to him, notifications about the delays arrived only shortly before each new departure time. “Maybe an hour before. They just kept delaying, delaying, delaying.”
“Today we came here to get the luggage,” Noam said, adding that they received their bags only two hours after arriving. The replacement flight they purchased is scheduled to depart Saturday, but the vacation has already been cut short.
“Our vacation was shortened by a day and a half, two days,” he said when asked how the disruptions affected them. “Frustration, complete uncertainty.”
His father, Roni, said the flight was canceled after a long series of delays and explained that the cancellation was not the end of the problem.
“After the cancellation, basically there’s no luggage,” he said, describing confusion and confrontations as they tried to retrieve their bags. He said that during the long hours of waiting, they also did not receive adequate assistance with basic needs.
“It was midnight. Bring us some water, something. But there was no one to talk to.”
Ben Gurion Airport authorities said luggage that was not sent overseas was sorted, gradually removed from the sorting areas and transferred to airlines. Luggage belonging to passengers who landed without their bags is being delivered to them through the airlines.
Luggage belonging to passengers who landed without their bags is being delivered to them through the airlines
For Ziv and his family, the night ended with their three children sleeping at the airport. The family had been scheduled to fly to Thessaloniki Thursday at 4 p.m. According to Ziv, they were initially told the flight had been delayed until 7 p.m., then 9 p.m. and later 2 a.m.
“At 2 a.m., they sent a message saying the flight was canceled,” he said.
By then, the family had already checked in and handed over their luggage.
“We came back devastated, after saving money for two years to take this vacation,” Ziv said.
He returned to Ben Gurion Airport Friday to try to retrieve the luggage, but had still not received it. Asked what he had been told about a refund or what would happen next, he replied: “Nothing, absolutely nothing. They didn’t say anything.”
He added that his daughter’s medication was in one of the bags.
For some arriving passengers, luggage arrived relatively quickly
Alongside passengers dealing Friday with the consequences of Thursday’s cancellations, those who landed in the afternoon described a much smoother return, although concerns about the disruptions followed them until they reached Israel.
Shon Sosia, who returned from Paphos with his wife and two daughters, said their flight was delayed by nearly four hours. He said there was no representative providing information during the delay.
The landing passengers' luggage arrived relatively quickly.
“Nothing. We handled it ourselves, we saw for ourselves what was happening on the flight board,” he said.
For the family, the delay had added significance because of the start of Shabbat.
“I’m with two daughters and a wife who observes Shabbat,” Shon said. His concern was that his wife would not make it home before Shabbat. In the end, they landed and their luggage was waiting for them almost immediately.
“After all the stress, by the time we arrived, the bags were already with us,” he said.
Tom, who also landed Friday with his two young children, said his flight was delayed by about an hour. He said concerns following the strike kept him awake all night.
“All night I was thinking about what the delay would be. In the end, there are two small children. You put them in front of screens, there’s no other option. It’s obviously not easy, but you do what you have to do.”
Rinat also said her flight was delayed by about an hour, but the family had been informed in advance. She, too, did not have to wait long for her luggage. According to her, the bags were already on the carousel within about 20 minutes.
Noy said her concerns began even before the strike, when rumors of disruptions started circulating. As someone flying with her family Friday who observes Shabbat, the uncertainty was particularly significant.
“We’re religious and we’re flying on Friday. I didn’t know whether we’d manage to land, whether we’d make it home for Shabbat,” she said.
She also performs for children and did not know whether she would make it to her performances Sunday. Once the family saw what was happening at the airport, they followed developments constantly — but received no updates.
The uncertainty reached the children as well.
“My daughter kept asking, ‘Wait, will we get home for Shabbat?’”
While Ben Gurion Airport looked much calmer Friday afternoon than it had during Thursday’s events, the disruptions were far from over for some families. Some passengers who landed Friday found their luggage within a short time, while others returned to the airport with no intention of flying at all — only to try to recover the baggage left behind and find out how and when their long-awaited vacation could finally begin.
Iris Lifshitz-Klieger contributed to this report.