Israel Worried Over Frankfurt Airport Security

Israel Worried Over Frankfurt Airport Security
Airwise

February 24, 2004 


Israel said on Tuesday it was concerned about security
at Frankfurt Airport prior to boarding of Lufthansa
flights to Tel Aviv, but denied reports it plans to
halt flights from the Germany airline.

"We are not banning flights," Arik Ben-Ami, senior
deputy director-general of Israel's Civil Aviation
Administration, said. "We have all intentions to find
the best solutions to ensure the safe operation
between Germany and Israel."

He said Israeli CAA security officials plan to meet
their German counterparts early next week in Frankfurt
to review security measures.

Ben-Ami declined to say what the security problems
were, but an Israeli government aviation source said
it was procedural.

"The issue is procedures at the Frankfurt airport,"
the source said, without elaborating. "Our security
people have some concerns about the procedures."

The airport operator, Fraport, said security checks
were especially tight on passengers travelling to
Israel.

"We have very severe and intensive security checks,
especially for passengers to Israel. All these
measures have been discussed with Israeli security
authorities, so we are a little bit surprised," said a
Fraport spokesman.

A spokesman for Lufthansa in Tel Aviv explained that
Israel's problem centered on departures from Terminal
C, where Lufthansa flies two flights a day to Tel Aviv
-- one in the morning and one in the evening.

"In the evening there is an additional security check
(after passport control) before departing that doesn't
exist in the morning," said the spokesman, Itzhak
Zaroni, noting that there is no need for a second
security check in the morning.

"In the morning until the afternoon, there are no
incoming flights, so all the people in this terminal
have already been checked and screened," he said. "In
the evening, we also have incoming flights (in the
terminal), so people mingle."

SECURITY SAID STRINGENT

Zaroni said that after next week's meeting, Israel
should be satisfied with security measures in
Frankfurt, which are the responsibility of government.
"The security measures in Frankfurt are very, very,
very stringent," he said.

A German government spokesman was not immediately
available for comment.

Israel's mass daily Yedioth Ahronoth and Financial
Times Deutschland reported that Israel's Transport
Ministry had threatened to ban Lufthansa flights to
and from Israel because of what it sees as
insufficient security levels at Frankfurt, continental
Europe's busiest passenger hub.

Lufthansa sees the issue as one in a series of
attempts to dent the German carrier's success on the
Frankfurt-Tel Aviv route.

Zaroni noted that El Al Israel Airlines flights also
leave from Terminal C in Frankfurt.

Israel's CAA had ordered Lufthansa -- the largest
foreign carrier to Israel -- to slash the number of
seats on the route by 15 percent through the end of
March and by another 10 percent in April.

The CAA argued Lufthansa was increasing the number of
seats to fly Israelis to destinations other than
Germany, which cut into El Al's business.

Lufthansa petitioned Israel's Supreme Court, which
last week issued a temporary injunction against any
capacity cuts.

Ben-Ari said the latest row over security was
unrelated. "This has nothing to do with the issue of
(capacity on) Lufthansa flights between Israel and
Germany," he said. "It's just a coincidence."


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