El Al Ends Flights to Cairo
El Al said it is discontinuing its weekly flights to Cairo.
In a letter published Sunday in the daily Maariv, El Al Airlines CEO Eliezer Shkedi said Israel’s official airline cannot afford the high security and operating costs for the nearly empty flights, according to news reports.
The airline declined comment. Irena Etinger, spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, confirmed the letter.
The letter, addressed to Lieberman, did not say when the flights would end.
Under the 1979 peace accord, the two countries agreed to provide flights. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said if El Al cancels its service, another airline must provide Cairo flights, according to The Associated Press.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
