El Al is “likely to close” if the government does not provide financial assistance within the coming days, El Al chairman Eli Defes warned on Monday. Addressing the Knesset’s special committee on dealing with the coronavirus, Defes said the company had presented requests to the Finance Ministry worth a total of $350 million, in addition to an organizational efficiency plan. “El Al entered the crisis before all the other companies, and its $200m. revenue cycle stopped entirely,” said Defes. “El Al is spread out over 30 locations worldwide. If we do not receive immediate help, within the next few days, El Al is likely to close.” Negotiations have been ongoing between the Finance Ministry and Israeli airlines for approximately two months, a ministry representative told the Knesset committee. While airlines Israir and Arkia meet the criteria to receive assistance from the government’s loan fund for large companies, the scope of El Al‘s operations requires separate negotiations to receive aid. The Finance Ministry representative insisted that a loan-based rescue package must include both government-guaranteed and bank-guaranteed credit. “We believe that within one to two years, we will be profitable and can return the loan,” Defes told the committee, accusing the Finance Ministry of stuttering in its efforts, while other governments roll out financial assistance plans to airlines. Yaakov Ganot, director-general of the Israel Airports Authority (IAA), called on the government to ensure that Israel maintains the “operational fitness” of all airport and border crossings infrastructure, ensuring that the country is ready for the day after the crisis. Citing “zero income,” Ganot said the IAA is currently planning a further round of redundancies and unpaid leave. Source
Comments are closed.