Mention EL AL and O.R. Tambo in a single sentence and you are likely to conjure up images of a spooky environment. Perhaps more damning for South Africa, EL AL and Oliver R. Tambo are intertwined in a complex narrative. EL AL is Israel’s national airline; Oliver R. Tambo is South Africa’s international airport in Johannesburg, previously known as “Jan Smuts”.
El Al’s first Boeing 787-9 ‘Dreamliner’ (4X-EDA) landing at Ben-Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, 23 August 2017. (Siegi Negrea Photo).
This article delves into the history of EL AL, from its founding to its modern operations, and examines its relationship with South Africa, including controversies and security concerns.
The Early Years of El Al
Founded in November 1948 as Israel’s national airline, EL AL operated its first scheduled flight on 31 July 1949 from Tel Aviv, Israel to Rome and Paris. The name ‘EL AL’ comes from the Bible’s book of Hosea and means ‘to the above’ or more poetically ‘to the skies’.
Upon the birth of the State of Israel in May 1948, and even before EL AL’s incorporation, the EL AL name was applied to special flights by Israeli DC-4 and C-46 aircraft borrowed from military transport use. 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, an Israeli C-54 military transport aircraft was instead converted into a civilian plane to transport Weizmann home.
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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. The Airline was incorporated and became Israel's national flag carrier on 15 November 1948, although it used leased aircraft until February 1949, when two unpressurized DC-4s were purchased from American Airlines.
The acquisition was funded by the government of Israel, the Jewish Agency, and other Jewish organizations. The first plane arrived at Lod Airport (later renamed Ben Gurion) on 3 April 1949. Aryeh Pincus, a lawyer from South Africa, was elected head of the company.
EL AL began humbly, with its first commercial passenger aircraft being two used DC-4s purchased in early 1949 from American Airlines - 4X-ACC named ‘Rechovoth’ and 4X-ACD named ‘Herzl’.
One of EL AL’s first two aircraft, Douglas DC-4 ‘Herzl’, registration 4X-ACD, at Lod Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel. This aircraft operated EL AL’s first scheduled passenger flight, on 31 July-1 August 1949 from Tel Aviv via Rome to Paris. (Ozzie Goldman photo, Marvin G.
Initially, EL AL linked Tel Aviv with major European cities - Paris, London, Rome and Zurich. It operated from the Tel Aviv airport originally named ‘Lydda’, which was soon renamed ‘Lod’ and later named ‘Ben-Gurion Airport’ in honor of Israel’s first Prime Minister.
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Expansion and Technological Advancement
After EL AL acquired two additional DC-4s from United in 1950, it retained the United livery and also applied it to its earlier DC-4. Regular scheduled flights from Tel Aviv to New York began in April 1951 upon EL AL’s acquisition of used L-49 Constellations. EL AL thereby became the first airline outside North America and Europe to operate scheduled trans-North Atlantic service.
In 1955, however, EL AL boldly became one of the first two airlines (along with BOAC) to order the new Bristol Britannia turboprop. EL AL introduced the Britannias on scheduled service in December 1957, enabling it to fly between London and New York nonstop in both directions. Award-winning EL AL ads proclaimed “No Goose-No Gander”, meaning no required stops at Goose Bay, Labrador or Gander, Newfoundland for refueling on trans-Atlantic flights.
Boeing 720s were added in 1962, and by 1967 EL AL operated an all-Boeing 707/720 fleet. In fact, all of EL AL’s aircraft purchases since 1961 have been Boeing models. Wide-body jumbo 747s followed in 1971, enabling EL AL to fly nonstop, against the prevailing winds, from Tel Aviv to New York.
Wide-body Boeing 767-200s next entered EL AL’s fleet in 1983, featuring new computerized technology in flight deck avionics and greatly improved fuel economy. Smaller single-aisle Boeing 757s, mainly for European routes, entered the fleet starting in 1987, peaking at nine. In 1994, EL AL gradually began replacing its 747-200 four-engine wide-body aircraft with Boeing’s improved version, the 747-400.
The ‘400’ series featured numerous technological and structural improvements over the ‘200’, including the computerized ‘glass’ cockpit, more fuel efficient engines, winglets, and better air circulation and in-flight entertainment systems for passenger comfort. EL AL operated its last 747 flight (by 747-400, 4X-ELC) on 3 November 2019, bringing to an end the reign of the ‘Queen of the Skies’ aircraft in EL AL’s fleet.
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For short and medium routes, primarily between Tel Aviv and European destinations, EL AL has mainly employed (starting in 1999) Boeing 737 New Generation aircraft. In 2015-16 EL AL placed orders for 16 new Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft. Some of the 787s were purchased directly from Boeing, and others were leased.
These modern aircraft have renewed and upgraded EL AL’s long-haul fleet, and have replaced all of EL AL’s 767-300s and 747-400s. EL AL’s new 787 aircraft feature three classes of service - Business First, Premium (a new class of service), and Economy.
EL AL is not presently a member of any global airline alliance. However, it has codeshare arrangements, in respect of certain flight itineraries originating or terminating in Tel Aviv, with over 25 airlines, including several members of the SkyTeam alliance. A codeshare arrangement allows the sharing airlines to market one another’s flights on certain routes.
To meet increased demand, EL AL has embarked on a fleet ‘replacement and renewal campaign’. The airline will significantly expand its wide body fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. A 17th Dreamliner entered the fleet in 2025 and a further two are to be received at the end of 2025 or early 2026. In August 2024 EL AL placed an order with Boeing for 20 737 MAX new aircraft, some to be purchased and some leased, with options to acquire up to 11 more, and with the first planes to arrive in 2028.
Special Roles and Operations
For over 70 years, EL AL has fulfilled many special roles for Israel and the Jewish people. Through massive immigrant airlifts, starting with Operation Magic Carpet which brought Yemenite Jews to Israel in 1949-50, and Operation Ali Baba in 1951 where EL AL flights rescued Jews fleeing oppression in Iraq, the airline recalled the Biblical prophecy of returning Jews to Israel “on eagles’ wings”.
In 1990, EL AL started airlifting hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in Operation Exodus, and in May 1991 it carried out the dramatic rescue of thousands of Ethiopian Jews in Operation Solomon. On 24 May 1991, an El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane airlifted a record-breaking 1,088 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel in the framework of Operation Solomon. Two babies were born during the flight.
EL AL has also served as Israel’s vital lifeline to the world in times of crisis. For example, during the 1967 Six Day War and 1973 Yom Kippur conflict, as well as during the Gulf War in 1990 when Iraq bombarded Israel with Scud missiles, EL AL was the only airline that continued to fly passengers in and out of Israel. Many of its aircraft also operated around the clock to carry vital supplies.
Privatization and Modern Challenges
In 2003 the Israeli government offered its shareholdings in EL AL for sale to private interests, primarily through the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. By December 2004 the Israeli company Knafaim-Arkia Holdings acquired 40% of EL AL’s shares - enough to be the controlling shareholder - as the government’s percentage was by then reduced to 30%.
As a privatized airline since 2005, EL AL’s management adhered to financial responsibility and, together with the airline’s motivated employees, raised passenger service and comfort to a high standard. On 16 September 2020, In cooperation with the Israeli Government, EL AL carried out on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange a $150 million public offering of additional shares of the airline’s capital stock.
The company Kanfei Nesharim (‘Wings of Eagles’) Aviation of Israeli citizen Eli Rozenberg, son of US-based businessman Kenny Rozenberg, purchased over $100 million of EL AL shares in the offering, thereby acquiring 43% ownership of EL AL, enough to control the airline, and received final approval of the Government.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused EL AL, like most other airlines, to make dramatic cuts in service in early 2020. By April 2020, in part due to severe Israeli Government restrictions on entry of travelers to Israel, EL AL suspended regularly scheduled passenger service, furloughed over 80% of its employees and deferred the planned inauguration of scheduled service to new destinations.
Meanwhile, EL AL carried out special flights to bring Israelis stranded abroad back to Israel (including its longest flight ever, round trip to Melbourne, Australia), and expanded its cargo flights. EL AL’s route network has been modified frequently since early 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in competition, fleet size limitations, political relations with certain Arab countries and, most recently, the wars with Israel by Hamas in Gaza and by Iran.
Security Measures and Controversies
Most travelers will name “security” as the feature that particularly distinguishes EL AL. Since 1968, following the occurrence of terrorist attacks against two of its aircraft, EL AL has plainclothes armed guards aboard each flight. The airline spends more than twice as much money as other airlines to protect its passengers and aircraft, and it maintains the most intensive and respected airline security system in the world.
At home and abroad, pre-flight security checks and baggage inspections are carried out thoughtfully and with utmost care, utilizing the airline’s own modern detection equipment and specially trained personnel. EL AL employs stringent security procedures, both on the ground and onboard its aircraft. There are four layers of airport security procedures in Israel: early detection outside the airport zone, airport access control, passenger and baggage screening, and on-board security.
At Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, plainclothes and uniformed agents monitor the premises for explosives, suspicious behavior, and other threats. Armed security personnel also patrol El Al terminals overseas. Inside the terminal, passengers and their baggage are checked by a trained team. EL AL security procedures require that all passengers be interviewed individually prior to boarding, allowing El AL staff to identify possible security threats.
Even though privatized, EL AL has continued its policy of not operating scheduled passenger flights on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath which spans Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) or on major Jewish holidays. This means that EL AL must accomplish in 306 days a year what other passenger carriers do in 365. Needless to say, this is a big driver towards maintaining operational efficiency.
However, these stringent security measures have also led to controversies, particularly in South Africa. In the latest example of Israeli entrenchment in South Africa, it has been discovered that Israeli intelligence, or Shin Bet, agents are illegally profiling and detaining South African citizens in Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.
This was brought to light last month by South Africa’s premier investigative journalism TV show, Carte Blanche, following allegations that security personnel from Israel’s national carrier, El Al Airlines, were acting dubiously at the airport. Jonathan Garb, a former EL AL security employee, decided to expose this practice after what he says was an unfair dismissal by his former employer. “This here is a secret service operating above the law in South Africa. We pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.
According to Garb, “The decision was she should be checked in the harshest way because of her connections.” One of the more than 40,000 individuals Garb has profiled is Middle East politics expert Dr. Virginia Tilley. When Tilley flew to South Africa she was separated from her belongings for 45 minutes by these agents. “She had like a portfolio. She couldn’t see what we were doing and we photocopied all the documentation and then forwarded it on to Israel,” Garb says.
When questioned by the show’s presenter regarding who that information would be passed on to, Garb confirmed that it would be for Israel’s intelligence services as the airline had no use for it. Another South African, Isaac Mgidi was so incensed by his treatment at the hands of El Al that he has taken the matter to the South African embassy in Israel.
Upon arriving at El Al’s check-in at O.R. Tambo, Isaac and his colleague were taken to a small room, told to remove their shoes and pants and face the wall with their hands up. According to South African law, only South African police or defense force officials can conduct this kind of search. Garb explains that black people receive a harsher profiling process than whites.
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It is infuriating that an accused war criminal like Lieutenant Colonel David Benjamin, an Israeli army legal advisor during Operation Cast Lead, can travel through South Africa’s airports unhindered, while ordinary and innocent citizens of this country are subjected to blatant racial and religious profiling by foreign agents who are acting above the law.
Route Network and Destinations
El Al flies to 51 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Here's a summary of El Al's destinations and route changes:
| Region | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Various cities | Flights to some European cities were cancelled due to reduced demand in March 2020. |
| Asia | Beijing | Flights suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak. |
| Africa | Johannesburg | Israel's El Al says scrapping S. Africa flights end March. |
| North America | Various cities in the USA and Canada | El Al has connecting flights to 61 destinations in the United States via John F. Kennedy Airport. |
Subsidiaries
Sun d’Or International Airlines was established in 1977 as a subsidiary of EL AL to operate charter flights. Over the years Sun d’Or has specialized in low-cost flights appealing to vacationers, working closely with tour operators and flying mainly to destinations in the Mediterranean area and western and eastern Europe.
Originally it operated aircraft leased from EL AL together with EL AL crew and maintenance. On 30 March 2014 launched a low-cost airline brand called ‘UP’. On 15 October 2018, however, EL AL merged the ‘UP’ brand back into its main EL AL operation, and replaced it with a new pricing model for EL AL’s flights between Tel Aviv and Europe, Asia and Johannesburg.
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