Wednesday 19th January News Israel Aviation Safety Criticised

The head of the International Air Transport Association - Giovanni Bisignani - has said that Israel's aviation safety is an "international embarrassment for the civil aviation authority.  This follows the Government being slow to implement safety recommendations at Ben Gurion Airport.

Israel has been warned that Ben Gurion Airport is using outdated technology, too short runways and has an overcrowded airspace together with a dysfunctional civil aviation authority.

This has seen Israel downgraded to a Category 2 state by the American Federal Aviation Administration, meaning that Israeli airlines are now prevented from expanding their capacity in the American market or carrying code-share passengers from American airlines.

Israel has though now begun to upgrade the civil aviation network with new radars and instrument landing systems, the extension of one of Ben Gurion's runways and the construction of a new air control tower.  Israel is also working with the American Federal Aviation Administration in order to be able to return to being a Category 1 state.  The Transport Ministry is also planning to introduce Israel's first piece of aviation legislation.