Last update - 00:00 11/07/2007
Departures resume after pirate radio disrupts takeoffs from airport
By Zohar Blumkrantz , Haaretz Correspondent
Officials from the Israel Airports Authority temporarily halted takeoffs from Ben-Gurion International Airport Wednesday, due to interferences with air traffic control caused by a pirate radio station broadcasting from Haifa. However, after a half an hour, departures resumed following the closing down of the pirate radio station.
Israel Airports Authority Director General Gabi Ophir then cleared four planes to takeoff, and planned to hold a meeting to determine if additional planes could departure.
This marks the second time this week that the airport has had to halt departures. Authorities also delayed landings at the airport, and set a ten minute gap between each one.
Last month, 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.