El Al flights to Hong Kong, Brussels, canceled over labor dispute
Additional disruptions expected as pilots demand better scheduling, threaten full strike in coming weeks
National carrier El Al Israel Airlines said Wednesday it was forced to cancel several international flights after pilots refused to show up amid an ongoing labor dispute.
A flight to Brussels was canceled earlier Wednesday.
A short while later, El Al announced on its website that flights LY332 from Brussels to Tel Aviv, scheduled to depart Wednesday night at 9:20 p.m., LY075 from Tel Aviv to Hong Kong scheduled for departure at 8:50 p.m. and return flight LY078 from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv scheduled to depart at 8:55 p.m. Thursday night have all been canceled.
The Israeli airline apologized and said it would reimburse passengers.
Pilots also warned of possible disruptions to Wednesday night’s scheduled flight to Beijing. They claimed that El Al was intentionally causing the disorder to turn public feeling against the workers, even though a crew and three pilots stand ready to go. They said that if the outgoing flight was called off, then the return flight will also be canceled, and travelers may be stranded in China until after the weekend.
“We call on the management and director to come to their senses and stop causing disruption to the passengers,” the pilots said in a statement Globes news site reported.
Meanwhile, the airline was accusing the pilots of making impossible demands.
“Sanctions by pilots have disrupted the company for many months,” the airline management said. “The pilots refuse to fly return journeys like active pilots and are demanding that they only have to fly in one direction.”
CEO David Maimon released a video on Tuesday in which he appealed directly to the staff of El Al. “The pilots’ refusal to carry out their jobs and their unreasonable demands to only fly in one direction have caused disruptions, delays and cancellations,” he said. “Therefore we have been forced to charter planes from foreign companies.”
At the same time, the head of El Al pilots’ union, Nir Zook, published a letter to the airline employees. Zook maintained that chartering foreign planes was not a temporary solution but part of a broader management plan to increase profits. He insisted the company was blaming the pilots despite the fact that the employees were doing all that was asked of them.
“What is happening with El Al is a tragedy,” Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said on Wednesday. He called on all those involved to end their dispute.
In the coming days some 6,000 airline workers will vote in a secret ballot whether to strike over work conditions. Although the airline management said that the pilots are inciting the other workers, the vote is supported by the chairman of the transportation workers’ union, Avi Edri and Histadrut labor federation leader Avi Nissenkorn.
