Information AboutEl Al |
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El Al Israel Airlines (, "skyward") ( and largest Airline of Israel . From its main base and hub at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport , El Al operates regular international passenger and cargo flights to Africa , Asia , Europe , and North America as well as local flights to Eilat . Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has steadily grown, and now serves 48 destinations on four continents. As the national carrier, El Al has played an important role in Israel's humanitarian rescue efforts, airlifting Jews from Ethiopia , Yemen , and other countries where their lives were in danger. The airline holds the world record for the highest number of passengers on a commercial aircraft, a record set by Operation Solomon , when Jewish refugees were brought over from Ethiopia. El Al is regarded as the most secure airline in the world, after foiling many attempted hijackings and terror attacks through its vigilant security protocols. HISTORY Early years In September 1948, Israel 's first President , Chaim Weizmann , attended a conference in Geneva , Switzerland . Weizmann was scheduled to fly back to Israel in a government aircraft, but due to the embargo imposed on Israel at the time, this was not possible. A C-54 military transport aircraft was converted into a civilian plane for this purpose. The aircraft was painted with the El Al/Israel National Aviation Company logo and fitted with extra fuel tanks to enable a non-stop flight from Geneva to Israel. It departed from Ekron Air Base on September 28 , and returned to Israel on September 30 . After the flight, the aircraft was repainted and returned to military use. The airline was incorporated and became Israel's official carrier on November 15 , 1948 , although it used borrowed aircraft until February 1959, when two unpressurised DC-4 's were purchased from American Airlines . The acquisition was funded by the Israeli Government , the Jewish Agency , and other Jewish organizations. The first plane arrived at Lod Airport on April 3 , 1949 . Aryeh Pincus, a lawyer from South Africa , was elected head of the company. The first international flight, from Tel Aviv to Paris (refueling in Rome), took place on July 31 , 1949 . By the end of 1949, the airline had flown passengers to London and Johannesburg. A regular service to London was inaugurated in the middle of 1950. Later that year, El Al acquired Universal Airways, which was owned by South African Zionists. A state-run domestic airline, Israel Inland Airlines , was founded in which El Al had a 50% stake. El Al's cargo service was inaugurated in 1950, and initially relied on military surplus C-46 aircraft. That same year, the airline initiated charter services to the USA , followed by scheduled flights soon afterwards. From its earliest days, operation of the airline in keeping with Jewish tradition has been a source of friction. When the Israeli prime minister David Ben Gurion was forming his first coalition, the religious parties would not join unless Ben Gurion promised that El Al would serve only Kosher food on its flights and would not fly on the Jewish Sabbath . As the national carrier, the airline was involved in several covert operations. In the early 1950s, El Al airlifted over 160,000 immigrants to Israel from India , Iran , Iraq and Yemen as part of Operation Magic Carpet and Operation Ezra And Nehemiah . In 1960, Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was captured and flown from Argentina to Israel on an El Al aircraft.1 In 1955, after using unreliable and noisy Lockheed Constellation s for several years, the airline purchased two Bristol Britannia aircraft. El Al was the second airline in the world to fly this plane, after the British Overseas Airways Corporation . In 1958, El Al ran a newspaper advertisement in the US featuring a picture of a "shrunken" Atlantic Ocean ("Starting Dec. 23, the Atlantic Ocean will be 20% smaller") to promote its non-stop Transatlantic flights.2 This was a bold step: The airline industry had never used images of the ocean in its advertising because of the widespread public fear of airline crashes. The advertisement, which ran only once, proved effective. Within a year, El Al's sales tripled. Expansion in the 1960s Despite the purchase of Britannias and inauguration of non-stop transatlantic flights, the airline remained unprofitable. When Efraim Ben-Arzi took over the company in the late 1950s, the Britannias were replaced by flew from Tel Aviv to New York , covering 5,760 miles in 9 hours and 33 minutes. By this time, El Al was carrying 56,000 passengers a year - on a par with Qantas and ahead of established airlines like Loftleidir . In 1961, El Al ranked 35th in the world in the number of accumulated passenger-miles. El Al's success continued into the late 1960s. In 1968, regular flights to Bucharest were inaugurated, and cargo flights began to Europe and the USA. The airline also established a catering subsidiary, Teshet Tourism and Aviation Services Ltd. All these ventures brought in an annual profit of $2 million that year. El Al as a target of hijacking and terrorism On February 18 1969 , Palestinians attacked an El Al plane at Zurich Airport killing the copilot and injuring the pilot. One Palestinian attacker was killed and others were convicted but later released.4 Between September and December 1969, bomb and grenade attacks occurred at El Al offices in Athens , Berlin , and Brussels . This wave of violence culminated in the failed hijacking of an El Al Boeing 707 by Patrick Arguello and Leila Khaled on September 6 1970 , as part of the Dawson's Field Hijackings . 1970s and 1980s |
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