Pinechas Idan Holds Key Role Amid Chaos at Ben Gurion Airport

On a day when Ben Gurion Airport was expected to handle around 100,000 passengers, significant disruptions caused flight landings to halt, resulting in long queues and severe operational impact. The turmoil brought renewed attention to Pinechas Idan, chairman of the Airport Authority Workers' Union, a powerful figure in Israeli labor relations since 1986. The Airport Authority accused workers of deliberate actions, while Idan attributed the disruptions to heavy workloads and staff shortages.

Idan, 70, has led the union representing approximately 6,000 employees for nearly four decades, making it one of the strongest unions in Israel due to its indirect control over the country's main air gateway. Born in the moshav Ahisamach as the tenth of eleven children, he joined the Airport Authority in 1979 after serving in the Armored Corps, initially working as a porter and driver before moving into union leadership.

Beyond his union role, Idan briefly served as mayor of Lod from 1998 to 2000 and ran for the Knesset on the Likud list in 2019, though he withdrew his candidacy. In 2023, during a general strike protesting judicial reforms, he ordered a halt to takeoffs at Ben Gurion, later admitting the strike was illegal but justified by instructions from the Histadrut chairman. Despite being past the official retirement age, Idan remains a uniquely influential figure in Israeli labor and airport operations.