The calm atmosphere at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport turned into chaos when dozens of angry passengers staged a spontaneous protest near the check-in counters of Israel’s national airline El Al, Kursor Info reports.

The situation escalated so much that the airport administration was forced to call in reinforced police units to restore order and prevent possible clashes between airport staff and passengers.

According to Mako, the cause of the outcry was a sharp and unexpected change in El Al’s aircraft occupancy rules.

Just a day earlier, official permission was granted for flights to increase the number of passengers on board from 100 to 200. Based on this criterion, the airline promptly sold tickets and confirmed the reservations of all those who wanted.

However, the decision of the regulatory body adopted at night disrupted all plans, and the passenger limit was returned to the previous mark of 100 people. As a result, half of the passengers who arrived at the airport with luggage and all the necessary permits were refused right at the boarding gates.

Finding themselves in a situation where there were half as many seats on the plane as there were ticket holders, the airline employees established a strict priority system. Accordingly, those whose flights had been canceled earlier, as well as passengers departing for humanitarian reasons, were given the right to board the plane first.