Airport chief warns Israeli aviation is ‘days away from point of no return’

https://www.timesofisrael.com/airpor...-of-no-return/

Ben Gurion CEO Shmuel Zakay calls to renew flights, says months-long stagnation
under pandemic endangers tens of thousands of jobs, could cause ‘huge strategic
damage’

The CEO of Israel’s main airport warned Friday that the country was “days away
from reaching the point of no return” for its aviation industry, after long
months of an almost complete lack of flights due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Shmuel Zakay said in a Facebook post that after so much time without activity,
many professionals, from pilots to ground crews, had had their operational
competency eroded. “Bringing them back to efficient and safe flights will take
months,” he said.

In Israel, where most travel in and out of the country is through the air,
long-term damage to the aviation industry would cause “huge strategic harm,” he
added.

While acknowledging that the coronavirus is “a dangerous and lethal pandemic,”
Zakay said it was imperative to learn to live with its presence and manage its
risks, as it did not seem to be going away anytime soon.

He accused the government of “stagnation” in its response to the disease,
calling its handling of the crisis “the opposite of leadership.”

“This week civilian flights resumed in the world even in countries whose illness
levels are high,” he stated. “We can operate safe civilian aviation even under
the shadow of coronavirus.”

Zakay argued he was not urging a return to flights so Israelis could “go on
vacation,” but rather he was trying to prevent “fatal harm to an industry
comprised of tens of thousands of people, hundreds of professions.”

Israel’s national carrier, El Al, has entered deep financial trouble due to the
pandemic. On Thursday it furloughed 500 more staff, including 100 pilots, amidst
a labor dispute.

Tensions at the airline have been high after it slashed the vast majority of its
workforce and dipped into pension funds to stay afloat amid the coronavirus
crisis. The airline is seeking a government bailout to save it from insolvency
and collapse.

On Wednesday, the airline stopped flights altogether after labor talks blew up
between the pilots committee and management.

Prior to the latest round of furloughs, it had put 80 percent of its 6,303
workers on unpaid leave, cut management salaries by 20%, halted investments, and
signed accords for the sale and lease-back of three Boeing 737-800s.

Hundreds of food service workers at El Al subsidiary Tamam, which produces
Kosher airline meals for multiple carriers operating through Ben Gurion
International Airport, have also been furloughed, sparking concerns regarding
the possibility of mass layoffs.

According to the Ynet news site, Wednesday’s flights were canceled after
negotiations between pilots committee representative Nir Reuveni and airline CEO
Gonen Usishkin ended without resolution on Tuesday evening.

The pilots then refused to staff Wednesday’s flights, with the airline’s
management reportedly responding that if they would not fly, they would be
transferred to other active positions in the company, with many of them needing
to be furloughed as a result.

The airline has prolonged the suspension of scheduled commercial flights until
the end of July, but had said it would continue to use its aircraft for cargo
and occasional passenger flights.




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