El Al announced Monday morning that it has begun preparations for a rescue operation to bring Israelis back home, which will commence immediately once Ben Gurion Airport reopens for operations.
"We are preparing for an operation to bring Israelis back home as soon as Ben-Gurion Airport reopens for activity," the airline said in a statement posted on its website. "Recovery flights for EL AL and Sundor customers whose flights were canceled will be provided at no additional cost. Flight sales to the general public will open only after all EL AL and Sundor customers have been brought back to Israel."
El Al also said that it is preparing to operate recovery flights from New York, Miami and Los Angeles in the US; Bangkok and Phuket in the Far East; and Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, Paris, Budapest, Tbilisi, Sofia, Warsaw, Bucharest, Madrid, London, Barcelona, Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, and Zurich in Europe.
Additionally, El Al is exploring the option of operating flights on KlasJet aircraft to Taba or Aqaba, subject to receiving the necessary approvals from Israeli security authorities.
"These flights will depart from select nearby European gateways and will be offered at no additional cost to EL AL and Sundor customers who choose to use them," the statement added.
"At this stage, it is not possible to purchase tickets for flights departing until March 21 or until all EL AL customers holding a valid ticket have been rebooked. Closing ticket sales is intended to ensure full priority for customers whose tickets were issued before the current situation and to guarantee their travel as soon as possible.
"Customers holding a ticket will be automatically rebooked on flights, and we will proactively update them with their new departure time. Based on the current assessment, there is no need at this stage to transfer customers to another destination worldwide."
El Al also noted, "If your booking includes a flight listed as LY7XXX, this is a technical registration only. It is used to hold your place in the system until you are assigned to an alternative flight. There is no action required on your part. Your reassignment to an alternative flight will be completed automatically by EL AL, and once assigned, you will receive a notification containing your new flight details."