Controversy over the halting of El Al Israel Airlines Ltd.'s (TASE: ELAL) two daily flights to Eilat continues to rage. Yesterday the carrier announced that it was stopping the flights because of the new flight path introduced by the Israel Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday.
El Al charged that the new flight path could endanger the passengers' safety and that the Civil Aviation Authority had not provided answers regarding the changes.
This morning, Head of the Arkia Airlines Ltd. national workers committee Yigal Cohen sent a letter to Transport Minister Yisrael Katz attacking the decision three years ago to open internal flights to the national carrier.
Cohen wrote, "Your office staff boasted that the measure would lower prices of the flights by hundreds of shekels following the competition. In contrast I cried out on behalf of Arkia employees that this would not lower prices but rather harm Arkia and its employees."
Cohen also attacked El Al's current decision to halt flights and insisted that the carrier's reasoning is false. "Yesterday we all followed with concern El Al's announcement that it is stopping flights to Eilat due to safety considerations. But you and I and many others in the sector know that the main reason El Al has stopped flights is profitability."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013