El Al passengers have been notified in the last two days of flight cancellations – in last-minute announcements. For passengers, EL AL explains that these are cancellations due to operational circumstances, but that they are the result of disputes between the management and the pilots.
Yesterday (Wednesday) flights to Venice and Boston were canceled, today flights to Athens, Brussels and Frankfurt have been canceled so far.
The controversy relates mostly to the pilots’ wages, which were cut by 30% during the corona period and have not yet been updated to the pre-epidemic wage level, and those who pay the price of the disruptions are of course the passengers. Recall that by law the company must return the passengers their money in addition to compensation in the amount of NIS 1,000-3,000 according to the flight distance.
EL AL stated that “EL AL is forced to cancel a number of flights for operational reasons beyond its control. The company, in cooperation with all sectors of the employees and in all sectors, is making great efforts to make the flights possible. EL AL staff are currently working to find other flights or An appropriate alternative solution. “
If that was not enough, disruptions by an EL AL mechanic surprisingly prevented the company from participating in the Independence Day flight. The disruptions came as a result of the cancellation of flights by EL AL pilots – which were not acceptable to other committees in the company. El Al’s Dreamliner was preparing to take off after a solemn ceremony, but a workers’ protest led to the cancellation of the flight. Arkia and Cal aircraft will participate as planned.
“We are sorry that El Al was unable to take part in the festive flight of the 74th Independence Day. This is a serious incident. We are learning the details and we will take care so that such an event does not happen again.”
The El Al Workers’ Committee said: “Today we stopped the planes for a simple reason, 11 planes remained on the ground due to manning pilots in an attempt to return what they had taken in the agreements in Corona, just as every sector was involved in saving the company.
“On the other hand, the pilots’ association picks up a flight from El Al to market itself. For Mets, there are pilots while 11 planes and 2,000 passengers remain at the terminal, instead of manning another flight and taking the passengers who saved shekels for shekels to go on vacation with their family. .
“Therefore, all sectors, administrative stewards and maintenance decided to leave the flagship built for them by the pilots in a Mets configuration on the ground. If they continue like this, it will get worse and we will take tougher action to stop the suffering of our passengers.”