Israel Airport Puts 600 Employees on ‘Unpaid Leave’ as Economic Crisis Deepens

Ben Gurion International Airport has placed 600 employees on unpaid leave as a result of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza which has weakened the tourism industry, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) said on Monday.

Quoting the Israeli Airports Authority, Kan reported that about 600 airport staff were placed on unpaid leave, and the working hours of 1,000 others had been reduced by 25 percent.

“The Airports Authority held talks with workers in several departments at the airport, during which it announced its decision to place some staff on unpaid leave and reduce the workload of others,” Kan said.

According to the report, some 4,600 workers work at the airport, “but after these decisions, only about 3,000 employees will work on a full time basis.”

The majority of international airlines have stopped flights to and from the airport since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.