Government approves Open Skies deal, airlines launch strike

Israel's three airlines, El Al, Arkia and Israir, ground fleets over government's approval of EU air travel agreement that would considerably lower airfares • The unions would like to add provisions to protect local operators, such as funding for security measures and landing rights in major European airports.

Ilan Gattegno, Zeev Klein, Hezi Sternlicht and Israel Hayom Staff

Grounded. El Al planes at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday. | Photo credit: Yossi Zeliger

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The government on Sunday approved Israel's Open Skies agreement with the European Union, with a majority of 16 to three. The deal, which aims to increase competition in Israel's air travel industry, was signed in July 2012 after three years of negotiations.

Prior to the vote the ministers were presented with three reports suggesting that approving the deal would yield the state billions of dollars in revenue, as well as considerable political gains.

Ahead of the vote, Israel's three airlines, El Al, Israir and Arkia, grounded their fleets in protest. The three stated that the strike, which at this point is open-ended, was launched over the government's refusal to amend the deal according to their demands.

According to the Transportation Ministry, the deal will open Israel's civilian aviation market to increased competition from European airlines, which will lead to a considerable drop in the cost of air travel, as well as increase the number of direct flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport to dozens of European cities and encourage incoming tourism to Israel.

All three airlines have expressed concerns that the deal will effectively spell their demise, despite the fact that its outline has a five-year implementation period meant to afford them enough time to prepare for the new competition. The deal also includes Israeli compliance with certain European safety and environmental standards. The unions would like to add provisions to protect local operators, such as funding for security measures and landing rights in major European airports.

The Israel Airport Authority said that 53 takeoffs carrying 8,700 passengers and 38 landings carrying 6,800 passengers had been scheduled for Sunday. It said takeoffs were being delayed but not canceled, adding that the strike is not expected to affect landings.

Ahead of the strike, El Al, Israir and Arkia pushed their early morning flights forward from 5-6 a.m. to 4 a.m. to minimize passengers' inconvenience.

El Al CEO Eliezer Shkedi said that in its current form, the agreement means the Israeli airlines would have to play soccer against rugby players on an international playing field.

"The government is being led down a reckless path. The Europeans have alliances and they can fix prices and coordinate flight schedules because they are subject to European law, but we are bound by Israeli law, and we cannot coordinate prices," Shkedi said. "This is unfair. U.K.-based airlines would be allowed to add more flights, but we would be denied requests to operate more flights into Heathrow. It's not just about this or that airline, it involves the state. All we want is to match our employment terms lest we have a situation in which Ricky Cohen from Lod is out of work but Brigitta from Germany has a job."

Histadrut labor federation chairman Ofer Eini urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend the Open Skies deal, saying it was the prime minister's responsibility "to avoid making such a harsh and destructive decision."

The Histadrut warned that if the government approved the deal regardless of its reservations, it would consider launching a full-scale transport strike, which would include Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel Railways and the Shipping and Ports Authority.

A source in the Histadrut told Israel Hayom, "We are considering launching a strike that will include these three bodies, but at this time it's too early to tell whether such a measure will be needed. Our goal is to enter negotiations [with the Transportation Ministry] and avoid a strike altogether."

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said Saturday that he would present the Open Skies deal to the government regardless of the threat of a strike. Katz presented the deal to Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday, who said, "I understand the [airlines'] distress but I support this policy."

The government has vowed to bolster its spending on airline security so that it covers 80 percent of the costs involved, in addition to 5 million shekels ($1.38 million) it would spend on security every year for the next five years. Katz has instructed Civil Aviation Authority head Giora Romm to assist the Israeli operators and guide them through the transition period to make their integration into the European markets proceed as quickly as possible.

Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Israel's Economic Organizations Liaison Bureau -- an umbrella organization that represents 1,700 unions across Israel's various industries -- voiced its support of the deal, calling it "an essential move that will support the market's growth by encouraging incoming tourism."

"Encouraging tourism is something that all the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are vigorously pursuing," bureau chairman Zvi Oren said, adding that the projected growth in incoming tourism from Europe is expected to create some 10,000 new jobs.

Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association Chairman Kobi Karni disagreed. In a letter he sent Saturday to Netanyahu and Katz, he implored then to suspend the agreement pending several amendments, saying, "The current outline of the deal fails to protect the Israeli airlines and completely ignores the fact that in times of need, these airlines are the State of Israel's only bridge to the world."