Last update - 00:00 09/07/2007
Pirate radio broadcasts disrupt takeoffs from Ben-Gurion Airport
By Zohar Blumenkrantz, Haaretz Correspondent
Officials from the Israel Airports Authority on Monday temporarily halted takeoffs from Ben-Gurion International Airport, due to interferences with air traffic control caused by pirate radio stations. Altogether, the interference is believed to have delayed the flights of over 1,000 passengers.
After two hours the interference ceased and flights were cleared for takeoff.
Authorities also delayed landings at the airport, and set a ten minute gap between each one.
This is the third time in two months that airport operations at Ben-Gurion have been halted due to pirate radio interference in the area of the ultra-Orthodox enclave of Bnei Brak.
On the 6th of June, all traffic at the airport was stopped for several hours and thousands of passengers had their flights delayed.
Airport workers were able to determine that the disruptions happened whenever pirate radio stations were broadcasting nearby.
The next week, a group of government ministers came together to start an initiative to combat pirate radio stations.
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