Israel’s national airline El Al reports that since the outbreak of war the October 7she carried out more than 1,400 flights carrying 200,000 passengers, more than half of them to Israel.
She added many additional flights on its schedule and last weekend the airline transported hundreds of soldiers in active service, reservists and security and medical personnel to Israel. The passengers have traveled for free and all costs were covered by donations.
El Al also airlifted approximately 3,500 tons of supplies and equipment from around the world, considered essential to the war and relief efforts. Working in close coordination with various units of IDF (the Israeli army), El Al delivered more than 10,000 donated items to Israeli troops, such as food, clothing, flashlights, blankets, sleeping bags and toiletries.
After the government warned Israelis not to travel to Turkey, El Al quickly organized evacuation flights from Istanbul via its subsidiary Golden Sun. El Al also gave preference to Israelis wishing to return home from Athens after leaving Turkey independently. These passengers were only charged airport taxes. El Al says it will continue to adapt as the situation evolves. She created a web page that automatically updates to show real-time seat availability for upcoming dates.
Airlines around the world have halted flights to and from Israel following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
