The flights were canceled, the planes were grounded - and the gloves were removed.
EL AL planes parked at Ben Gurion Airport // Photo: Moshe Shay
The El Al conflict worsens: Over the weekend, the last El Al aircraft landed outside Israel, thus grounding all 45 El Al planes and remaining in Ben Gurion Airport parking.
The grounding of all company jets stems from a conflict between company pilots and management. The chairman of the company pilots was replaced early last week and decided to remove the gloves. In talks with pilots, they do not hide their intention to replace the existing management headed by CEO Gonen Ussishkin, who replaced David Maimon two and a half years ago.
Meanwhile, the company's pilots are heavily criticized by senior officials in the aviation and tourism industry for not understanding the sensitive situation and using their power to achieve what they want. "They do not understand that they are harming themselves and the company - the company will be dismantled in this situation, and no one knows how it will rise and what image the pilots will have," a senior aviation official explained.
Over the weekend, allegations continued between the company's management and the pilots. "The rescue of the company must be based on a capital injection, and not on more and more loans that cannot be repaid today," he said in a statement to the pilots committee. "Unfortunately, it is clear to everyone that the controlling shareholder Mrs. Tamar Moses-Borowitz is unable to inject the required capital, New owners of capital to inject money into the company. "
It should be noted that El Al is in the most difficult period of all its years of existence. The company is trying to raise $ 400 million, which should help it recover from the crisis. Finance offers various ways to help, but banks are in no hurry to lend. In contrast, El Al does not accept the state's proposal to actually nationalize the company.
The pilots stressed that "additional loans only meant saving Daddy and Tammy Borowitz, while bringing the company into greater distress."
El Al's management responded to the pilots' accusations, saying: "The attempt to divert the discussion into a need for a discussion of the company's holding structure is unworthy. We will not be dragged into a heated and disrespectful discourse in the media, out of responsibility for the day when we reach understandings and find the way to save El Al." El Al and the management team are determined to come to a conclusion on an outline of state aid, which will enable El Al to gradually return to regular and meaningful activities. The condition for its assistance is the signing of a streamlining agreement with the Histadrut and the workers, including the pilots. "