JERUSALEM — El Al, Israel’s national airline, canceled two long-range flights on Thursday, due to lack of pilots.
Flights canceled were on the routes from New York City to Israeli city of Tel Aviv, as well as from Tel Aviv to Mumbai, India.
Nine El Al flights have already been canceled in the past two weeks. The company’s pilots refused to fly beyond the number of hours stipulated in the law and in their agreement with management.
In addition, El Al flights are usually staffed only a few hours before take-off, not days in advance, which creates difficulties in finding available pilots.
The problem is expected to worsen in three months with new regulations taking place, which is expected to further restrict pilots’ working hours to 80 per month. EL AL pilots claim that they sometimes work for even 240 hours a month.
The pilots’ committee said that they are working to the limit of the law and the labor agreement to maintain the busy schedule of summer flights.
El Al said the flights had been canceled for “operational reasons.”
