El Al airline announces rescue flights from Israel to London
El Al is to start rescue flights from Israel from Monday after receiving 25,000 request forms, the airline said.
Israel’s flag carrier said it would begin operations tomorrow with a strict cap of 50 passengers per flight, in line with government guidance.
Under the scheme, passengers who leave Israel on a rescue flight will not be allowed to for at least 21 days.
A total of 25,000 people have registered their interest since the system opened on Saturday night.
Flights will operate to London, Paris, Athens, Rome, Larnaca, New York, Los Angeles and Bangkok.
Currently, passengers can only book flights on El Al from July 15 after the airline suspended regular operations until at least June 27.
El Al said in a statement: ‘We are subject to and operate in accordance with the directives of the security establishment and the Ministry of Transportation.
‘The safety and security of our passengers are our top priority, and we will continue to provide updates on any changes or new directives.’
Following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion air strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation, the Foreign Office updated its travel advice on June 15, placing Israel on its red list.
British citizens in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are advised to ‘follow local authorities’ advice’.
As well as rescue flights from Israel, the airline is running repatriation flights for Israeli citizens abroad from the same destinations.
The airline said that flights would be ‘operated gradually’ and subject to government approval.
It added that passengers already booked onto flights between June 13 and June 30 would not be charged an additional fee if reassigned onto a rescue flight to the same region.
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In addition to emergency flights, El Al is offering cruises to and from Cyprus in partnership with Mano Maritime, with each voyage accommodating up to 1,500 passengers.
During Sunday evening’s meeting of the UN Security Council, Iran accused the US of a ‘flagrant breach of international law’ and having ‘waged a war’ under a ‘under a fabricated and absurd pretext’.
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