Ben Gurion International Airport is the world's second worst airport after Teheran and an accident is only a matter of time, says Lapidot committee member Abraham Kimchi. The Lapidot committee is a joint Ministries of Defense and Transport committee set up to examine the safety of Israel's civil aviation.
Kimchi made the comments during a press conference at which committee chairman former Air Force commander Major General (res.) Amos Lapidot explained why he has quit the position. He accused the Ministry of Transport of flawed handling of aviation. He was particularly critical of Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz.
Lapidot also accused the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) of failing for years at its job as regulator of civil aviation. He said the source of the problem was the Minister of Transport's domination of the ICAA, which hinders it. However, the ICAA has also done too little over the years. ICAA director general Udi Zohar announced his resignation a few weeks ago. He will stay on until his replacement takes over.
Lapidot said, "The ICAA can fall no lower. The end will come when it will no longer be possible to paper over the gaps, and the result will be an aviation disaster." He reiterated the committee recommendation to remove the ICAA from the Ministry of Transport and have it answer directly to the minister. He also recommended that the ICAA operate on the same model as the Antitrust Authority.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 4, 2008
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