The Israeli prime minister and president will have to continue using regular commercial flights or chartered aircraft from Israeli airlines for official visits abroad.
The plan to purchase or lease a dedicated aircraft to fly the heads of state abroad was shelved because the current "atmosphere" is not right now for such an investment. The Israeli government decided that even though a dedicated aircraft would be a cheaper alternative, the time is not right. The decision was made shortly after big demonstrations calling for "social justice" took place in major Israeli cities.
Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Finance released a request for information dealing with buying or leasing an aircraft that would be used to fly the prime minister to official trips in foreign countries.
In the past, an Israeli air force Boeing 707 was used for official trips, but the old aircraft was seen not to meet even the basic requirements. In recent years, the prime minister's office has been issuing tenders to the three Israeli airlines each time he had to fly abroad for an official visit.
This procedure created public criticism, especially when special cabin arrangements were required by the prime minister's office.
The RFI included three options - purchase, dedicated leasing or leasing - according to need, with very short reaction time.
What hampered the implementation of the plan were the specifications included in the RFI. The company that prepared the specifications wanted something with the standards of a smaller-scale Air Force One.
Some sources related to the stalled project defend the specifications, saying that they add only "a marginal" sum to the overall cost. Others think that they were exaggerated. In any case, the prime minister and president will have to fly on commercial airlines, which will prepare the aircraft for the mission according to the duration of the flight.
Government sources say that the plan is merely postponed. It seems that this delay will be in place until some of the "social justice" demands are fulfilled.
And Israeli airlines will continue to compete for supplying specially configured aircraft for official flights by the heads of state.
The plan to purchase or lease a dedicated aircraft to fly the heads of state abroad was shelved because the current "atmosphere" is not right now for such an investment. The Israeli government decided that even though a dedicated aircraft would be a cheaper alternative, the time is not right. The decision was made shortly after big demonstrations calling for "social justice" took place in major Israeli cities.
Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Finance released a request for information dealing with buying or leasing an aircraft that would be used to fly the prime minister to official trips in foreign countries.
In the past, an Israeli air force Boeing 707 was used for official trips, but the old aircraft was seen not to meet even the basic requirements. In recent years, the prime minister's office has been issuing tenders to the three Israeli airlines each time he had to fly abroad for an official visit.
This procedure created public criticism, especially when special cabin arrangements were required by the prime minister's office.
The RFI included three options - purchase, dedicated leasing or leasing - according to need, with very short reaction time.
What hampered the implementation of the plan were the specifications included in the RFI. The company that prepared the specifications wanted something with the standards of a smaller-scale Air Force One.
Some sources related to the stalled project defend the specifications, saying that they add only "a marginal" sum to the overall cost. Others think that they were exaggerated. In any case, the prime minister and president will have to fly on commercial airlines, which will prepare the aircraft for the mission according to the duration of the flight.
Government sources say that the plan is merely postponed. It seems that this delay will be in place until some of the "social justice" demands are fulfilled.
And Israeli airlines will continue to compete for supplying specially configured aircraft for official flights by the heads of state.
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