The company will not cease operations and keep its routes to Israel open, despite the isolation instructions • Launch of several lines will be rejected • "Airways Preservation - Top Value"

Despite the Corona: EL AL announced Monday evening that it intends to continue to take flights out of Israel, according to demand. However, the company announced the postponement of the launch of the lines to Chicago, Tokyo and Dusseldorf, which will launch this summer.

An empty flight from Ben Gurion Airport to Paris

In addition, the company will allow its customers who purchase airline tickets whose departure date is until the end of the month to postpone or freeze the flight ticket for departure by February next year. El Al CEO Gonen Ussishkin said this evening "El Al sees paramount value in preserving air routes to and from Israel during emergencies and will therefore continue to operate flights to America, Europe and Africa, according to demand and need."

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Earlier today, two smaller airlines in Israel, Arkia and Ishair, decided that in the coming days they would disable all their international operations. Last night El Al held an emergency hearing and is also expected to minimize its operations significantly.

This is an exceptional, extreme and unprecedented step, which means that the State of Israel is isolated. All other international airlines operating in Israel are expected to stop flying to Israel in the coming days and if there is no significant change, we are expected to enter a period when the sky in Israel will be completely closed. Ben Gurion Airport will be vacant, thousands of employees will go on vacations or be fired at the airlines, the airport authorities, contractors operating at the airport and many other factors in the tourism industry that will have to deal with the most difficult period the industry knew.

In addition, so far their flights to Israel have stopped or reduced dozens of companies including major companies such as Air France, Lufthansa Group, Cathay Pacific, Hainan and Alitalia. Now, more companies are expected to take similar steps. British airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, Dutch KLM, Turkish Turkish Airlines and Russian Aeroflot are just some of the big companies expected to reduce and possibly stop their flights to the country in the near future.