El Al cancels flight to Cyprus as coronavirus spreads
"As a result of special circumstances due to the coronavirus situation, including instructions and recommendations made by the Health Ministry to the public, we have been forced to make adjustments."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFAn Israel El Al Airlines plane is welcomed by jets of water during the inauguration of the company's flight route between Tel Aviv and Nice, at Nice international airport, France, April 4, 2019.(photo credit: REUTERS/ERIC GAILLARD)
El Al has cancelled a flight to Cyprus after a decline in demand since the coronavirus outbreak began, the airline announced on Monday according to Channel 12.In light of the cancellation, El Al announced further easing of their commercial policy regarding flights to Thailand and Japan. Included in this is easing are allowing customers to change departure days and handling fees free of charge.In addition, EL AL announced that those whose flight was cancelled will be offered alternatives to minimize major changes to the customers schedules. The decision to ease its commercial policy comes amid thousands of inquiries from customers and travelers. “As a result of special circumstances due to the coronavirus situation, including instructions and recommendations made by the Health Ministry to the public, we have been forced to make commercial adjustments on certain flights,” the airline said. “In this context, we are offering alternatives for travel on other flights. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”Cyprus currently has no confirmed cases of coronavirus, and flights to the country are being cancelled simply due to the lack of demand.Several flights to European destinations were canceled on Monday, after El Al cited the need for "commercial adjustments, due to decline in demand."Passengers scheduled to fly on flights to destinations including Vienna, Budapest, Brussels and Frankfurt were among those affected by the cancellations. The carrier has already canceled all flights to China, Hong Kong and Italy. The scheduled launch of a nonstop route to Tokyo on March 11 has also been postponed. In an initial move to cut costs on Sunday, El Al fired 50 trainee pilots and an additional 14 pilots waiting to begin their training at the company.
