Seems there's a media view of the event which sounds a bit more accurate:
Suspicious of London cabbie, El Al crew misses its flight
By Zohar Blumenkrantz
The captain of an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv on Tuesday caused an overnight delay to the flight because he and his crew suspected the taxi drivers taking them from their hotel to Heathrow Airport were possible security threats.
The incident occurred when the crew of a scheduled El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv was picked up from their London hotel for a trip to Heathrow on Tuesday. Suspecting that the taxi driver was a possible security threat, the captain refused to ride in the cab.
Another taxi was called for and the captain was equally suspicious of the second driver. Both men were described as being of "Middle Eastern appearance."
By the time the crew arrived at Heathrow for their scheduled flight, the delay was such that the flight was not permitted to depart and had to be rescheduled for the next day.
All passengers were lodged in London hotels and the flight took place without incident the next day.
In a statement issued by El Al, the company says that "difficult weather conditions in London and Heathrow airport disrupted ground and aerial transportation." It then says that the flight crew suspected the taxi driver and refused to ride with him, but due to the difficult weather conditions, they could not find other transportation to the airport, which resulted in a flight delay.
"The takeoff of the aircraft from London to Tel Aviv was prevented by the refusal of the authorities to approve a deviation from scheduled hours for takeoffs in practice at the airport, and the flight was delayed until Wednesday at noon."
From
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects...?itemNo=461202