El Al’s Board of Directors ruled on Sunday night in favor of the disbursement that the Ministry of Finance suggested keeping the airline in business during the global coronavirus crisis and the ongoing pilot strike that halted all operations, Calcalista reported Sunday. The state will guarantee a $ 250 million loan and buy $ 150 million worth of shares in the company, which means it would control 61% of El Al. The process of releasing these new shares is expected to be released by the state. Buy is completed in early October. The objective is that, when the company is stable, an outside investor buys it. An unidentified Israeli citizen had already investigated the matter, Haaretz reported last week. The decision ends 15 years during which the firm was controlled by Knafaim Holdings, specifically David Borowitz and his wife Tami Moses Borowitz, who together controlled 32% of the shares. The basic condition for the ministry’s spending to be carried out is that new agreements will be signed with four unions representing different groups of El Al workers. The El Al pilots union led a general strike, as they opposed the Knafaim’s continued control of the company and cut wages, and they are also expected to present a challenge to the state, as they have historically enjoyed excellent conditions. Transport Minister Miri Regev reportedly told the head of the El Al Pilots Union that “Israel will not allow El Al to go bankrupt” days before the Board of Directors made the decision on Sunday. Regev said Sunday that the decision is the “first step to get El Al back on track” and that the state period that the company controls should serve as a transition period to last “as long as it takes to keep Israel’s aviation independence. ” Due to the coronavirus pandemic that nearly destroyed the tourism sector in Israel, as well as Israeli law, which requires airlines to reimburse customers for their airline tickets if flights are canceled, El Al ends the first quarter of 2020 in black. losing $ 140 thousand in the first quarter.
