Four months after a committee was set up to locate a director general for the Airports Authority, the Ministry of Transportation announces the election of Maj. Gen. Hagai Topolansky, who will replace Yaakov Ganot, who has long since announced his retirement.
Topolanski was recommended for the position by a locating committee, headed by Ministry of Transportation Director General Michal Frank. Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli approved the recommendation and selected Topolanski “after a series of interviews.”
Topolanski, a retired IDF commander, served in his last position in the army as head of the IDF (Personnel Division) and before that as chief of staff and deputy commander of the Air Force, head of the Air Force, commander of the Yards base and head of the Air Force Planning and Organization Department. For the past three years, he has served as senior vice president of UAVs and strategic issues at Elbit while serving as chairman of a number of nonprofits.
Topolanski has a bachelor’s degree in economics and management from the University of Haifa and a master’s degree in military strategy from Air University in Alabama. He lives in Moshav Arugot, is married and has four children.
The search committee also included Brigadier General Israela Oron, (retired) President Nili Arad, Prof. Yossi Tamir, and Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer.
Topolanski will enter the Airports Authority at an interesting and challenging time, after the difficult two years the aviation industry has experienced it is in a recovery trend that is expected to continue into the summer. The congestion seen at Ben Gurion Airport these days is only part of the challenge that lies ahead with the decision whether and where to build a complementary airport, upgrade Ben Gurion Airport, and so on.