Israel Airports Authority Chairman, Ovadia Eli, and the CEO Kobi Mor, met this morning (Tuesday, February 19, 2008) with a panel of foreign aviation companies, with the aim of achieving closer cooperation between the heads of the aviation industry. The parties raised the need for consultation and intensive cooperation in formulating solutions and appropriate responses. Also on the agenda were the opening of Terminal 1 in the summer of 2008 and the proposal by the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of the Environment to enable quiet aircraft to operate during night hours.

Ovadia Eli, chairman of the IAA, emphasized to the panel of foreign airlines that "the customers are the most important factor in our business, and you are the customers." Eli further stated that "we attribute the highest importance to having regular meetings with the panel, and we are open to ideas, suggestions, and providing a response to most of the problems." Eli added that the Israel Airports Authority is run as a business enterprise whose aim is to maximize profits and to use these profits for upgrading safety measures and for purchasing innovative technologies. In the next few years a sum of about one billion NIS will therefore be invested in the areas of safety and security.

IAA CEO Kobi Mor said that the IAA will shortly present its overall safety program to the panel, as well as other issues on the agenda, in order to achieve full cooperation and dialogue between the IAA and the foreign aviation companies.