A statement from the Airports Authority Employees Committee states that unless NIS 60 million is received as part of El Al's debt, employees will not allow its planes to take off

• El Al planes at Ben Gurion airport

  Photo: 

  Moshe Shay

"If we do not receive all the NIS 60 million, we will land El Al," a statement issued on Wednesday by the Airports Authority's employees said. Employees are threatening not to allow the airline to take off in case they do not reach a settlement regarding El Al's debt. 

Pinchas Idan, chairman of the Airports Authority's staff, announced that "If we do not receive all of the NIS 60 million by Tuesday, we will land El Al, we are not hiding or afraid. They are not given appearance certificates despite their predicament. If they have problems, the state will help, not on our backs. "

Flights from Ben Gurion Airport - only since the beginning of July // Reporter: Shimon Ya'ish Photo: Shmuel Buchris

Idan added: "The Ministry of Health is playing with us and not announcing when the sky will be opened, where and how it will be. It will take us time to get organized, get them back from the UAV and run everything properly. "

"There are a number of countries with excellent status in terms of the spread of the Corona virus who want to get the Israeli tourist, but our Ministry of Health is constantly rejecting the decision," the committee chairman explained. 

To date, EL AL does not operate regular flights, but mainly operates cargo flights. The airline is expected to begin flights to New York and Los Angeles starting June 4. El Al preferred not to comment, but company officials condemned Pinchas-era threats.