Israeli airline Arkia has halted flights to Stockholm because the international airport has refused to allow Israeli methods of security inspections dictated by the Shin Bet security service. The methods, which include ethnic and personal profiling, extensive questioning and selective inspections based on the perceived degree of risk to security, have also been refused by airports in Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen.
The foreign and transport ministries are working with the Shin Bet to resolve the dispute.
“It seems from the international media that additional European countries waving the flag of civil rights and equality will refuse the Israeli security demands, which I’ve warned would happen,” said Arkia CEO Gadi Tepper. Adding that Arkia and other Israeli airlines would face serious difficulty Europe is blocked to them.
Meanwhile, Arkia and Israir are planning to move operations from Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport to Terminal 1 to save on costs. Once the enhanced open skies agreement between Israel and the European Union comes into force Israeli carriers will face stiff competition from foreign carriers and are looking to shore up expenses where they can. They have also asked the state to cover all their security costs and help them gain the Airports Authority’s permission to move operations to Terminal 1. They also want more time slots at Ben-Gurion so they can double their capacity to Europe and take better advantage of their new planes.
Arkia stops flights to Stockholm
