El Al says it will fly 8 repatriation flights Thursday; planes already full

El Al says it plans to operate a total of eight repatriation flights to bring back Israelis from Cyprus, Budapest, Athens, Milan, Rome, and London’s Luton airport tomorrow.

“We would like to emphasize that the passengers on these flights have already been assigned and will receive notification in the coming hours, and that these flights are already full,” El Al says in a statement.

This morning, the first repatriation flights landed in Israel from nearby Cyprus, beginning the mission to bring Israelis home. Israeli airspace was closed for arrivals and departures after the Israel Defense Forces launched a surprise attack on Iran early Friday.

“All El Al crews and the company’s aircraft fleet are awaiting instructions from the relevant authorities in order to continue operating more flights as soon as possible,” El Al says.

More than 70,000 Israelis stranded abroad registered on the El Al website for repatriation flights. Based on the registration, El Al is mapping destinations from which to operate the flights to bring citizens back.

The flights will be operated gradually, subject to government approval, El Al says. Seat assignment is carried out according to the date of the original canceled flight and exceptional medical humanitarian cases.