Hundreds of El Al passengers were stranded on motzei Shabbos at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv as a result of flights to Moscow and Boston being canceled at the last moment. This was the result of the ongoing dispute between the pilots’ union and airline management.
As a result, it is reported that flights from Boston to Tel Aviv (LY 0116 – Sunday 21:00), Warsaw to Tel Aviv (LY562 -22:30) and Madrid to Tel Aviv (LY398 -23:15) may have also been canceled. There are likely to be other cancelations as well.
The Ministerial Law Committee on Sunday was presented with a bill from MK Yisrael Eichler seeking to prevent unannounced public sector strikes to avoid that which has been taking place in El Al over recent weeks, the sudden cancelation of flights. Eichler calls for a minimum of 48-hour notice.
In an interview with Ladaat, Eichler explained the issues of the pilots are not sufficient to justify “holding passengers hostage” as is the case with El Al.
According to a Ladaat report, persons with ties to the Histadrut national labor federation are working hard to prevent the ministerial committee from approving Eichler’s legislation.
El Al management explains the pilots signed an agreement in which they stated such strikes would not occur. Negotiations involving the union and the labor federation are ongoing in an effort to halt sanctions which are resulting flight cancelations.
This dispute has erupted despite an agreement signed between management and the pilots in December. However, the current disagreement was not covered by that agreement, which concerns the terms of employment of pilots aged between 65 and 67 – 40 in number. International regulations prohibit them from flying aircraft but the age of retirement in Israel is 67.
The solution is to employ these veteran pilots as instructors.
A statement from El Al said: “Despite the agreement signed with the pilots in which they committed to discontinue disrupting flights as instructed by their leader Nir Tzuk (head of the pilots committee), they have resumed disrupting the company’s flights.
“In addition (to the cancellations), the pilots are disrupting training lessons and harming their colleagues, after the company put 10 instructors on leave after they all cancelled training together claiming sickness. The disruptions are being carried out despite the talks being conducted over the past few days under the auspices of the Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn on arranging the status of veteran pilots who have reached the age of 65 and can no longer fly after the State of Israel adopted international regulations in 2014 prohibiting flights by pilots over 65.”
“The company’s management always acts with responsibility and fairness towards the pilots who can no longer serve as active pilots. We do not expect the pilots’ representatives to make every disagreement in talks into open or covert sanctions, which harm the company, employees and above all our customers who are held hostage.”
Meanwhile, Globes published a statement from the the pilots committee which said, “The company’s management is lying to passengers: we, the pilots, are not taking any sanctions. We are operating all flights registered in advance. The fact is that no pilot who is not registered for a specific flight and is then called out at the last moment for a “special” flight during his daughter’s birthday, has the motivation to do so when management is cruelly throwing into the garbage, and violating agreements, with the most experienced pilots and captains, aged 65, while brutally and unilaterally reducing their salaries by two thirds. The company’s management is thus destroying El Al – the company that is our home.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
I was on the flight Wednesday night that was cancelled.A nightmare experience with airline representatives that were just making everything hard for us. 12 hours in airport, no help in getting on to a new flight, hours of waiting. STAY AWAY. If you are stuck call your agent immediately.
I had two flights cancelled on me within the last 6 months. One with Turkish Airlines.
One with Aeroflot.
What a difference. Turkish Airlines put us up in a hotel over Shabbos, drove us to and from the hotel, paid for our food and put us on a flight Shabbos night. Incredible service
Two weeks ago, I get to the Aeroflot counter to begin my trip back to the US. They tell me my flight was cancelled from Moscow to JFK. They then proceeded to tell me to go to their customer service desk, where I was rerouted onto a DIRECT Delta flight to JFK, arriving home 6 hours earlier than intended.
Last year my EL AL flight was also cancelled, they told me, too bad, not their fault and to call my travel agent It was a nightmare getting home.
See a pattern here?
El Al’s labor-management problems have been well documented for years. If you book with them, you know the risks. At least these chevrah were stranded motzi-shabbos rather than erev Shabbos. While an inconvenience, no big deal.
To all of you that had cancelled flights it’s a very painful thing but now that you are over it you could make money of it there is a yingerman in London that does it he takes a percent he is amazing
Mr. Taylor needs to go to Israel [if he can get there without El Al if need be] and explain to the MK’s the urgency of implementing his Taylor’s law in Israeli Law.
Tel Aviv to JFK was canceled as well last night. There was chaos at the airport with el al representatives scrambling to get passengers on different flights to ny either through Madrid Geneva Paris London Berlin. They promised kosher food but there was none on either leg of the flights. Just got home it was a nightmare!!
Where can I reach the yungerman? I would like to see my options
Tel Aviv JFK flight cancelled as well last night. Chaos at the airport. Rerouted most people to Geneva Berlin Paris London Madrid with connecting flights to JFK. Promised kosher meals there were none on either leg of the trip. Just got home and would love to contact the yungerman in London
He used to be advertised in לוח ה�