All flights departing Ben Gurion Airport have been halted due to contaminated jet fuel found in some planes.
Airport sources said that, due to safety concerns, all operations have been suspended and planes are not being fueled.
The timing of the problem affects thousands of Israeli basketball fans due to fly to Barcelona where Maccabi Tel Aviv will play in the final four European championships, and has hit tens of thousands of Israelis planning to get away for the long Independence Day holiday weekend.
The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said, "The company responsible for the supply of fuel to Ben Gurion Airport informed us this afternoon that their fuel containers are contaminated. Following the notification, Ben Gurion Airport management ordered all flights that have been fuelled at Ben Gurion Airport to stop."
In the wake of the order many foreign carriers have sent planes to other airports in the region such as Amman, Jordan and Larnaca, Cyprus to refuel there.
The IAA added, "At this stage we do not know when activities will resume. In this field it is not possible to take chances. For now there are no flights."
A source at one air carrier told "Globes" "There is a feeling of anger. Nobody can give us answers and nobody knows when we can take off. The expectation is that there will be long delays and that is very frustrating when considering that there are so many travelers at the airport en route to Europe for the weekend."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 5, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011