Title: El Al Employees Criticize Company Owners Amidst State Emergency
Subtitle: Employees express anger towards owners who neglect company’s ethos
Date: [Insert Date]
In the midst of a state emergency, El Al employees, ranging from pilots to flight attendants, ground crews, and administration staff, express great anger towards the company’s owners. They believe that the owners have failed to understand and uphold the company’s ethos, which emphasizes the use of their planes during times of national crisis.
Many employees, including pilots, have shown their commitment to the cause by volunteering to work on weekends during the emergency period, eager to assist the country in any way possible. Astonishingly, some pilots even continue to serve in the Air Force, participating in standby and operational flights before reporting for duty at El Al.
One of the key points of contention is the fact that the owners, including CEO Rosenberg, did not grow up in Israel nor serve in the IDF. For the employees, this lack of connection to the country’s values and military background further alienates them from the owners and their decision-making process.
However, El Al’s non-compliance with an order from Transportation Minister Regev has an additional reason beyond the owners’ disconnection from the company’s ethos. While the Ministry of Transportation, through the Civil Aviation Authority (RATA), grants El Al its commercial operating license, the authority to operate during emergencies lies with the Ministry of Defense. This is stipulated by the Law on Registration of Equipment and Its Recruitment to the IDF.
Over the years, the state’s “golden share” in El Al, as defined in the 2003 privatization agreement, has seen gradual reduction. Presently, it requires the company to maintain a fleet of at least three wide-body planes capable of transporting 1,000 people daily from the US to Israel, along with 320 tons of cargo. Additionally, El Al must have six narrow-body planes to fly approximately 2,000 people daily from Europe.
In the past, the state mandated that the company own four dedicated cargo planes. However, since El Al requested additional land for its Boeing 747 fleet, it no longer possesses such planes. Consequently, the state generously waived this clause. At present, the company only owns two leased cargo planes—an Airbus A300 and a Boeing 737, both of which have limited cargo capacity compared to its previous dedicated fleet.
As El Al continues to navigate these turbulent times, employees stress the importance of the owners aligning with the company’s ethos and recognizing their role in supporting the nation during emergencies. With tensions running high, the hope remains that a constructive dialogue between employees and owners can bridge the divide and reignite the sense of unity for which El Al has been known.