Closure of Israeli airspace for nearly two weeks in June hammered the second-quarter results of flag-carrier El Al, although the airline still managed to generate a profit for the period.
El Al says it suffered a $100 million pre-tax impact as a result of the closure, implemented on 13 June during Israel’s military clash with Iran.
The airline suspended its regular flight activity for around 10 business days.
El Al says the direct damage amounted to some $4 million per day, adding that it “bore most of its expenses without the ability to generate revenue”.
Not only did the airline lose profits that would have been expected, it also incurred additional costs – such as aircraft parking and crew accommodation – directly associated with the security situation, along with passenger compensation.
The second quarter showed a continuation of the first quarter’s trend of high demand for El Al’s flights. El Al says this demand “intensified” in May.
“Had it not been for the suspension of operations [in June], the business results in the [second] quarter would have been similar to the [second quarter of 2024],” says the carrier.
But the closure meant revenues declined 7.4% to $776 million, while pre-tax profit and net profit each dropped by around 55%, to $88 million and $66 million respectively.
El Al says it took emergency measures when the airspace closure commenced on 13 June.
It cancelled all flights due to depart from Israel, while others which were inbound diverted.
“The company took action to remove most of its aircraft that were at [Tel Aviv] Ben Gurion airport to various destinations around the world in order to reduce, as much as possible, the risk of a possible hit to one of [them],” the carrier adds.
El Al carried out a number of repatriation flights during the period, and regulatory authorities also permitted each outbound flight from Israel to carry up to 50 passengers.
Suspension of regular operations continued until 25 June, although several routes remained unavailable for days afterwards, and the airline’s activities only fully returned to normal in early July. El Al estimates around 400,000 passengers to and from Israel were affected by cancelled flights.
El Al’s pre-tax profit for the first half of this year reached $208 million – down on the previous interim figure of $293 million – while it turned in a net profit of $161 million, compared with last year’s $228 million.
