Flight to Newark canceled as El Al labor strife worsens

An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Newark Airport was canceled Wednesday night amid an ongoing work dispute between the airline’s pilots and its management.

Calling in sick shortly before the scheduled departure, the pilots of flight 027 forced the second flight cancellation within a day. Earlier, a flight set to depart from the US to Israel was abruptly canceled, after one of the pilots complained of fatigue.

Last week, four El Al flights to various destinations in Europe and Newark were delayed at Ben Gurion Airport.

The airline told Channel 2 that lately it has been forced to grapple with a shortage of pilots, as well as having to negotiate with pilots who were unwilling to fly certain routes.

Last week, the airline turned to the Tel Aviv labor court for an injunction to return the employees to work immediately.

“El Al has been suffering from a severe and alarming shortage of pilots in recent months,” pilots union head Nir Tsuk told Israeli financial outlet TheMarker.

“Rather than address the shortage and deteriorating work relations, the management is trying to solve the problem through courts and disciplinary threats,” he said.

El Al stated in response: “Unfortunately, despite the labor court decision compelling the pilots to return to work, they are continuing to disrupt the flight board. El Al apologizes to its customers for the disruption, and is doing its best to find alternative solutions for passengers and return flights to order.”