Israel Will Push American Airlines To Keep Philly Flight
American announced last week that it would discontinue the route beginning next year, solely for financial reasons. The route began flying in 2009, and has so far carried 95,000 passengers in 2015, according to Haaretz. But airline officials said it was still not profitable.
Israeli Transportation Ministry Director General Uzi Itzhaki has asked the Foreign Ministry to contact the U.S. government so as to help retain the flights. But Itzhaki acknowledged that because American is a private company, the government has limited leverage.
“We acknowledge that this involves a private airline, but shutting down the route would impair the level of service and increase ticket prices,” Itzhaki said, according to Haaretz.
The Foreign Ministry has said it will look into the matter.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30