Israel – Just two weeks after the license of El Al Airlines charter subsidiary Sun D’Or Airline had its license revoked, the first Saturday flight by El Al departed from Ben Gurion Airport under a new code. Four Sun D’Or flights, for which the tickets were sold before it lost its license, took off with an Israir Airlines and Tourism code, and a fifth flight took off under an Arkia Airlines Ltd. code.
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On Friday, Sun D’Or announced that it would operate by leasing its planes to Israeli charter airlines. The announcement means that the flights used El Al planes and crews, but were officially registered as if Arkia or Israir flights.
“This is a very logical solution, even if it is a kind of Israel-bluff,” a top aviation source told “Globes” today. “The issue that annoyed the European authorities – a non-existent airline – has been solved, but we’re not yet talking about a permanent and stable solution.”
Haredi (ultra-orthodox) rabbis and religious El Al passengers are, however, displeased by the solution. Rabbis on the Committee for the Sabbath who met with El Al VP David Maimon last week now claim that El Al had promised them not to set up a new company to replace Sun D’Or, or to hook up with another airline that desecrates the Sabbath. Both Arkia and Israir fly on Saturdays.
“There can be no pretence of innocence here. We take everything in proportion. We have no intention of turning El Al into a haredi company. We know what its situation was until now, we know the situation in the hangars, and the situation in the offices. We aren’t deceiving ourselves,” Committee for the Sabbath secretary Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf told “Globes” today.
“The duty imposed on us five years ago is to insist on the arrangement under which El Al does not fly passengers on the Sabbath, and on this issue we are prepared to go all the way, just as we have done until now.”
Read more in Globes
Nobody’s putting a gun to anybody’s head and forcing them to fly on Shabbot. I’m sure El Al can easily accommodate those crew members who are Shabbot observers; they did for many years back in the day when they did fly on Friday night and on Saturday during the day.
Clearly, this is the most important issues Israel faces today.
I’m frum but I am getting sick and tired of the religious police dictating to everyone else what to do. What is it their business to tell El Al how to operate?
I don’t get it. If the Charedi don’t want to fly El Al, then don’t.l They can take another airline or stay home–thats their decision and no one is holding a gun to their heads forcing them to fly. But if EL Al is supposed to survive as a “private” air carrier than it must do whatever is necessary to meet the competitive markets. The chareidi have the option of starting their own airline just like they have their own bus lines. Its their decision and in a democracy like EY, its their right. But don’ ask the government to subsidize them.
Last time I checked lots of frum companies are open 24/7 (IDT,and any other electric, gas, or telecom) but nothing is said about them!
It is a MAJOR chilul HaShem of the BIGGEST magnitude to have an Israeli plane in the air on Shabbos. The world sees the blue & white livery on the plane and they automatically associate it with yiddin operating on Shabbos. That’s a bigger chilul HaShem than some protesters.
to # 4 – would you or any sane person fly charaedi airlines ??? just think of the possible scenarioes. On the other hand El Al would go under if it looses the religious community !
let them fly shabbos and go bankrupt!
This is simple! The Chareidim should point out to El Al that, if they only have the bitachon and emuna to honor the Shabbos, they won’t lose any money. El Al, which is a business, can surely agree to a business proposition. El Al will agree to not fly on Shabbos, and the Chareidim will promise that, min Hashamayim, El Al will be guaranteed not to lose any money. If El Al loses money by not flying on Shabbos, then all bets are off– El Al can go back to flying on Shabbos and the Chareidim can go back to… whatever it is that they do.
where does your logic and statistics come from. OMG- no large frum families on ElAl. OMG- less noise, less disturbance and less of a stench on the plane.. go fly SouthWest….you’ll get bumped…
This sleight of hand can’t be legitimate. Oh wait! time to sell my chametz.