Amazing Israel Air Force, Kheil HaAvir.
EL AL is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems to protect its planes against surface-to-air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. Although it has been the target of many attempted hijackings and terror attacks, only one El Al flight has ever been hijacked; that incident did not result in any fatalities.
Main article: History of the Israeli Air Force
In September 1948, Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, attended a conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Weizmann was scheduled to fly back to Israel in an Israeli government aircraft, but due to an embargo imposed on Israel at the time, this was not possible. An Israeli C-54 military transport aircraft was instead converted into a civilian plane to transport Weizmann home. The aircraft was painted with the logo of the "El Al/Israel National Aviation Company" and fitted with extra fuel tanks to enable a non-stop flight from Geneva to Israel. It departed from Ekron Air Base on 28 September and returned to Israel the next day. After the flight, the aircraft was repainted and returned to military use Czechoslovakia
1970s: Going Boeing
Revenue passenger-kilometers, scheduled flights only, in millions
Year Traffic
1950 50
1955 138
1960 413
1965 1331
1969 2070
1971 3027
1980 4590
1985 6507
1995 11287
2000 14125
Source: ICAO Digest of Statistics for 1950–55, IATA World Air Transport Statistics 1960–2000
An El Al Boeing 707-300B landing at Zurich Airport, Switzerland (1982).
An El Al Boeing 767-200 on short final to London Heathrow Airport in 1985.
El Al acquired its first Boeing 747 jet in 1971.
![]() |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Founded | 1948; 76 years ago | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating bases | Ben Gurion Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Matmid Guest | ||||||
Subsidiaries |
|
||||||
Fleet size | 44 | ||||||
Destinations | 48 | ||||||
Traded as | TASE: ELAL | ||||||
Headquarters | Ben Gurion Airport, Israel | ||||||
Key people | David Brodet, Chairman Dina Ben Tal, CEO Olga Alauof, Kenny Rozenberg & Daryl Hagler Controlling shareholder |
||||||
Employees | 3,570 permanent, 2,608 temporary. | ||||||
Website | www |
|
|
---|
A regular service to London was inaugurated in the middle of 1950. Later that year, El Al acquired Universal Airways, which was owned by South African Zionists.
El Al's cargo service was inaugurated in 1950 and initially relied on military surplus Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft. The same aircraft type was used also for passengers transportation in certain routes. The same year the airline initiated charter services to the United States, followed by scheduled flights soon after.
Aircraft Inventory Israel Air Force current.
.
Aircraft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Subsidiaries
The charter operations of the Group is carried out through Sun D'Or, a company fully owned by El Al. Sun D'Or operates as a tourist organizer for wholesalers and individuals and markets charter and scheduled flights, both by means of leasing full aircraft capacity to third parties, or aircraft parts' capacity to a number of partners for pre-negotiated prices, or by direct sales. Starting from 2011, Sun D'Or operates as a tourist organizer, while maintaining the "Sun D'Or" brand for scheduled and charter flights marketed by Sun D'Or. In March 2011, The Israel Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced the suspension of Sun d'Or's operating license effective 1 April 2011. The CAA based its decision citing non-compliance with Israeli and international airline management standards, mainly lack of self-owned planes and crew. Since then, Sun d'Or no longer operates own aircraft but utilizes planes from its parent, El Al..
British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline from 1946 until 1974.
The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam vitae congue tortor.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur<br> adipiscing elit. Nullam vitae congue
![]() |
|
A wartime photograph of a U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) C-46 Commando | |
Role | Military transport aircraft |
---|---|
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | |
First flight | 26 March 1940 |
Introduction | 1941 |
Status | Active in limited civilian use |
Primary users | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Navy |
Produced | 1940–1945 |
Number built | 3,181 |