El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin, ordered all of the company’s aircraft to return to Israel. All flights, including both passenger and cargo flights, are cancelled until further notice.
El Al has cancelled all flights planned for Wednesday, after the pilot’s union announced that pilots would not embark on flights due to the company’s financial crisis.
According to Globes, El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin ordered all of the company’s aircraft to return to Israel. All flights, including both passenger and cargo flights, are cancelled until further notice.
El Al lost $140 million, about half a billion NIS, in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report by the company on Tuesday.
The pilot’s union announced on Tuesday evening that after “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,” KAN news reported. The dispute between the pilots and the company was also caused by the refusal by El Al to transfer Boeing 737 pilots to Dreamliner aircraft for cargo and passenger flights, according to Maariv.
El Al announced that it was in advanced stages of arriving to an agreement to receive aid from the government, but still needed the agreement of the workers and unions in order to receive the aid.
Since the coronavirus crisis began, about 100 pilots have continued working for El Al, while the rest are on unpaid leave.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post