Chaos Reigns at Israel’s National Carrier, ELAL Airlines

Israel’s national flag-carrier, ELAL Airlines, is mired in the throes of a labor crisis that is costing the company millions of dollars and incalculable damage to its commercial image. Passengers who fly the carrier because of its reputation as being arguably the safest airline in the world due in large part to the belief that its pilots are veterans of the Israeli air force are shocked to learn that in many cases the aircraft they are aboard is being piloted by a European or South American charter pilot hired to fill the gap while ELAL’s pilots carry out a job action. At the moment, the pilots’ union is engaged in a by-the-book slowdown and its members are refusing to fly round trips. As many as 2,000 temporary employees have been brought in. Passengers have told The Media Line of their surprise upon receiving a phone call a day before a flight informing them that the aircraft itself is not an ELAL plane but rather a craft chartered from a foreign company. Labor procedures are now in motion in order to call a full strike by the pilot’s union. Meanwhile, the pilots’ union is earning very little support from the public who find it difficult to sympathize with complaints about the work environment that accompanies salaries of $20,000 per month while their labor actions are preventing minimum-wage earners from working.