Israel's leading airline El Al to be nationalized as part of rescue plan
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E-mail Xinhua, July 7, 2020
JERUSALEM, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's leading airline El Al has decided to accept the Ministry of Finance's plan to save the company from shutting down, the airline said on Monday.
According to plan, the airline will receive a 250-million-U.S. dollar bank loan with a 75-percent state guarantee, along with a 150-million-dollar share issue.
The state made a commitment to purchase the shares, or 61 percent of the company.
By doing so, the airline will return to state-owned, 15 years after it was privatized.
Due to the coronavirus crisis, El Al planes were grounded in March, and 5,800 workers were put on unpaid leaves.
The company ended the first quarter of 2020 with a 140-million-dollar loss, and the continued sky closure means that it would have no revenue soon.
Israel's Minister of Transport, Miri Regev, told the Hebrew-language news website Ynet that "this is the first step in getting El Al back on the runway. We are committed to rehabilitate the firm to maintain Israel's aviation independence." Enditem
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