Israel’s El Al to resume domestic flights

After a seven-year hiatus, El Al Israel Airlines has announced it will temporarily resume flights between Tel Aviv Ben Gurion and the Red Sea resort town of Eilat Ramon, the only domestic flight route in Israel. El Al stopped serving the route for security reasons in November 2013, leaving it to Israir (6H, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion), and Arkia Israeli Airlines (IZ, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion). The latter stopped flying to Eilat following the outbreak of COVID-19, but Israir continued to serve the route, which is subsidised by the state. According to Israeli news reports, El Al was able to submit a tender to the government to operate to Eilat after reaching an agreement with its pilots, who had agreed to reduce their pay on the route. El Al pilots are paid for a minimum of five hours of flying but agreed to be paid for three hours on the route to enable the airline to submit a competitive bid. The flag carrier in a statement did not specify a date for the start of its flights, nor what frequencies it intends to operate. It merely said it would resume services pending receipt of the relevant permits, as soon as the current COVID-19 lockdown in Israel ends. It said the move was aimed at supporting the local tourism industry, the city of Eilat, and Ramon International Airport. Eilat is Israel’s southern-most city and a popular destination for domestic and international tourists. However, a COVID-19 linked travel slump saw passenger numbers on the route decline by 55% to 352,000 in 2020 compared to 2019, according to local news reports.