The Israeli flag carrier, El Al, has grounded its fleet indefinitely. This has come after the pilot's union announced they would not fly due to the airline's financial troubles.
In the first financial quarter, El Al reported loses of $140,000,000 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The airline has been flying using only 100 pilots, with the remaining 5,800 on unpaid leave. The pilot's union announced that "the administration of the company did not even respect the agreements that were signed with the union less than a month ago, the union had no choice but to arrive to the conclusion that the owners of the company are unable to save it from its situation." This means El Al went back on the agreements they had with the union, forcing the union to reach the decision that the airline owners will not be able to rescue the airline, and El Al will soon fail.
The airline, which has been shut down since March 2020, with the exception of repatriation flight to resuce Israelis stranded abroad, announced that "it was in advanced stages of receiving government aid, but said it needed the approval of the workers and unions in order to receive the funds." However, due to the fact that this plan need cooperation from the union, it is not likely this will occur due to the tensions and disagreements between the airline and union.
El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin has ordered all El Al aircraft, both cargo and passenger, to return to Israel, where they will be grounded and stored indefinitely.
What are your thoughts on El Al halting operations? Do you think they will be able to recover?
Avelo Airlines Has Quietly Wiped an Entire Day Off Its Flying Schedule and the Reason Goes Far Beyond Tuesday » American Airlines Has Just Opened Four New Nonstop Routes to Europe » Atlanta Just Voted to Study Replacing TSA at the World's Busiest Airport »
Comments (0)
Add Your Comment
SHARE
TAGS
NEWS El Al Israel suspension COVID-19 coronavirus no flights grounding grounded grounded fleetRECENTLY PUBLISHED
This Week in Aviation: The 10 Stories That Mattered Most
From major airline developments to aircraft updates and industry shifts, this weekly recap highlights the ten most-read aviation stories from the week of May 17.
INFORMATIONAL
READ MORE »
American Airlines Has Just Opened Four New Nonstop Routes to Europe
American Airlines touched down in European cities it had never served nonstop before, and returned to one it had abandoned for eight years, as four new transatlantic routes took off simultaneously on May 21, 2026, marking the opening day of the carrier's record summer 2026 schedule.
ROUTES
READ MORE »
Air Canada Is About to Fly Directly From Montreal to Mallorca for the First Time
Air Canada is weeks away from launching a route that no Canadian carrier has ever flown before, a nonstop service between Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport on the sun-soaked Spanish island in the western Mediterranean.
ROUTES
READ MORE »
