El Al reported on Tuesday that it began a partnership with Swiss global transport company Kuehne + Nagel to operate 150 cargo flights using converted Dreamliner planes owned by the Israeli airline, Ynet reported.
The flights will deliver medical gear to help the country fight the coronavirus and will leave from China to Israel, with its final destination being Italy.On the return path from Italy, the flights will land in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, allowing for other types of cargo be delivered to Israel in addition to medical-related items.
Head of El Al’s logistic department Ronen Sahfira expressed his hopes that the new service will help the country’s industries to “get business back on track” as the nation’s economy is looking forward to the current coronavirus health restrictions being modified and, eventually, lifted.
El Al is facing a dire financial situation and appealed to the state to approve a special $400 million loan as airlines around the world are not likely to recover from the impact of the pandemic until next year.So far, the airline refused to fire a third of its workers and agree to other cuts as conditions to obtaining the loan. El Al had been very active in the past month, arranging rescue flights to Israelis stranded outside of the country when the pandemic hit, bringing eggs when a shortage became apparent before Passover, and bringing in medical supplies to curb the spread of the coronavirus.