El Al announced on Monday that it has begun preparing a rescue operation to return Israelis stranded overseas due to Operation Roaring Lion. The rescue flights will begin once Ben-Gurion Airport reopens and approvals are received from the state and security authorities.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced that Egypt had agreed to allow Israeli flights to land at the Taba and Sharm El Sheikh airports as part of the rescue flight operations.
The airline said it is prioritizing passengers whose flights were canceled and that rescue flights for El Al and Sun d’Or customers will be operated at no additional cost.
In the first stage, El Al said it is preparing rescue flights from its main destinations in the United States, the Far East, and Europe.
The initial planned US destinations are New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, while the Far East destinations include Bangkok and Phuket, the airline said.
El Al added that the first European destinations being prepared are Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, Paris, Budapest, Tbilisi, Sofia, Warsaw, Bucharest, Madrid, London, Barcelona, Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, and Zurich.
Tickets to the public only after existing passengers are accommodated
El Al said that rescue flights for El Al and Sun d’Or customers whose flights were canceled will not incur an additional charge and will be made available for public sale only after all affected customers have been brought home.
The airline said it is proactively updating customers regarding changes and developments, with ongoing updates published on its website and social media channels.
Subject to approvals from security authorities, El Al said it is examining the operation of flights on KlasJet aircraft from nearby European destinations to Taba, Egypt, or Aqaba, Jordan, for El Al and Sun d’Or customers.
Those flights, if approved, would also be offered without additional cost to eligible customers, the airline said.
Hundreds of flights canceled worldwide
El Al's rescue flights are needed as thousands of flights were canceled across the world, leading to what The Guardian called "the most acute aviation shock since the Covid-19 pandemic paralyzed the industry."
According to the Guardian, nearly 2,800 flights were canceled on Saturday, the first day of the attack on Iran, with an additional 3,156 canceled on Sunday and at least 1,239 on Monday.
Among the most disrupted airlines were Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, who were forced to suspend flights to and from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar respectively.
The economic impact of the flight disruption is larger the inconvenience to individual flyers, the Guardian reported.
Stock in aerospace industries dropped, including for Japan Airlines (whose shares fell by 5.6%), Singapore Airlines (4.5%), Qantas Airlines (5.4%), and Cathay Pacific (2.9%).
The price of crude oil jumped as well due to the war, causing even more financial strain for everyone, including the aviation industry.