The Globes business daily reports that El Al has also shut down its cargo flights and its CEO has ordered all ongoing cargo operations to be suspended and for all planes to return to Israel, even those in the middle of a multi-stop route.
The empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport on June 12, 2020 (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
The move comes as the airline struggles to stay afloat amid compounding losses. According to the report, cargo flights have seen diminishing returns, with other airlines now able to carry more cargo on passenger flights.
The daily describes it as a step toward a total shutdown of operations. The airlines three passenger flights Wednesday have also been canceled, though flights for Thursday remain on the schedule.
A quarterly report for January-March issued late Wednesday showed $140 million in losses for the company in the first quarter of 2020, versus $55 million in losses for the same period last year. Revenue was down to $320 million for the quarter, a drop from $428 million last year.
“The company cannot continue to bleed and has come to the conclusion that it’s better to stop flights than to lose money on flights it operates,” a Histadrut labor union official tells Globes.
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