El Al to operate direct emergency flights to New York, Dubai
El Al will soon be operating emergency flights to Dubai as well, after winning a bid by Israel's Civil Aviation Authority.
By TOBIAS SIEGALEl Al Israel Airlines planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel March 10, 2020.(photo credit: REUTERS/RONEN ZEVULUN)El Al announced Monday that it will operate several direct emergency flights between Israel and the US for cases approved by Israel's Exemptions' Committee, a statement by the airline company read. Flights LY011 and LY003 to the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York are expected to depart Ben-Gurion Airport on February 9, at 5:35 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. respectively.Flights LY012 and LY014 to Ben-Gurion Airport will depart JFK Airport two days later, on February 11, at 6:30 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. respectively.A third flight, LY010, will depart JFK toward Ben-Gurion on February 13 at 11:50 p.m.El Al noted that the price for a ticket on its economy class will reach $600.In addition, passengers who have in their possession flight tickets that were canceled due to the pandemic will be allowed to redeem them for a seat on one of the offered emergency flights without an additional fee, so long as the passenger was approved by the Exemptions' Committee and can present a negative coronavirus test taken up to 72 hours before departure.El Al reassured passengers that additional flights might be made available if demand requires it.Emergency flights were originally planned to only reach Frankfurt, Germany, where Israelis were asked to arrive to through connection flights.However, after receiving numerous requests from individuals who require medical attention and cannot commute for long distances, making the option of flying in to Europe unrealistic for them, the Health Ministry had recently announced that it was looking into the possibility of allowing direct emergency flights between Israel and the US.Later on Monday, it was reported that El Al will soon be operating emergency flights to Dubai as well, after winning a bid by Israel's Civil Aviation Authority.
