Ben-Gurion Airport operations disrupted by civilian drone intrusion, takeoffs and landings halted

Operations at Ben-Gurion Airport were disrupted on Wednesday when a civilian drone intruded into its airspace, leading to a halt in takeoffs and landings during peak hours. The Transportation Ministry has launched an investigation into the incident.

This event occurs amid discussions about a potential comprehensive ban on civilian drones across Israel's airspace, as reported by N12 News on July 23. The defense establishment has put forward this proposal, reportedly discussed in a Security Cabinet meeting, amid heightened concerns about potential Iranian attacks against the country.

However, Pini Jungman, president of TSG, a company specializing in aerial command-and-control systems, criticized the proposed ban. He argued that enforcing such a measure would be extremely difficult, given the millions of drones operated by citizens, particularly children, in Israel. Jungman stated that preventing flights and monitoring compliance would be a significant challenge.

“

There are millions of drones in Israel, the vast majority of which are operated by children. It will be very difficult to prevent them from flying them, to monitor this, or to enforce the ban.