The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to lower Israel’s aviation security ranking after an inspection revealed what the FAA termed “severe security shortcomings in Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority.”

The FAA has reported various security defects at Ben Gurion International Airport, the largest and busiest international airport in Israel.

Israel’s aviation security will now get a ranking which the FAA has given to 10-20 other countries, most of which are in Third World countries.

The FAA has handed over to the Israeli government its formal report on Ben Gurion International Airport’s shortcomings.

The Federal Aviation Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the United States. The FAA is the single most influential governmentally run aviation agency in the world, with the European Aviation Safety Agency coming a close second.

Ben Gurion International Airport was known as Wilhelma Airport when it was first founded by the British Mandate of Palestine. It was called Lod Airport from 1948 until 1973, when the name was changed to honor Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. The airport is located near the city of Lod, 15 kilometres (9 miles south-east of Tel Aviv. Ben Gurion International Airport is operated by Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), a government-owned corporation that manages all public airports and border-crossings in the State of Israel.

Ben Gurion International Airport is the hub of El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia Israel Airlines, and Sun d’Or International Airlines. Currently, the airport’s Terminal 3 is used for international flights, and Terminal 1 is used for domestic flights as well as charter flights and low-cost flights in the summer months. The airport has three runways, which are used by commercial, private, and military aircraft.

According to aviation experts, the FAA’s lowering of Israel’s aviation security ranking will affect adversely the image of Israel-based airlines in the United States and in Europe as well as the Israeli airlines’ profitability.

Consequent on the FAA’s announcement, flights of Israel-based airlines to the United States will be limited – which would mean that there would be no additional flights to the United States and no option for aircraft to be added. In addition, supervision on air traffic and the activity of Israeli airlines in the United States would be stepped up.

The change in category also means that Ben Gurion International Airport will be deemed less safe. As a result, United States-based airlines will be banned from making changes in flight schedules or increasing the amount of flights between the countries, which, according to aviation experts, will in all probability lead to an increase in airfare.

A public committee headed by Amos Lapidot, Israel’s former Air Force Commander, was appointed to investigate the state of security in the Israel Civil Aviation Authority over a year ago. The Lapidot Committee had stated that the aviation safety in Israel was in a “catastrophic state.”

Israel’s Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz had accepted the Lapidot Committee’s findings. But, many months later, Amos Lapidot criticised the Transportation Ministry’s handling of the matter and warned that Israel “faces an aerial disaster.”

In responding to the FAA’s action, Israel’s Transportation Ministry, said in a statement: “The Transportation Ministry has taken the report to heart, and Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) would be using the report in order to set guidelines for improvement. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz has been working to repair damage accumulated over dozens of years with investments in flight security, and central position-holders have been replaced… We plan to study the report intensively and restore everything found lacking so that Israel can return to the category one.”