Tue, Feb 15, 2022
Americans Permitted to Return Home Via Tel Aviv
Israeli flag carrier El Al has announced the allocation of additional aircraft in an effort to assist the evacuation of thousands of Americans stuck in Ukraine, with the goal to bring them back to the states via Tel Aviv, Israel.
The growing tensions, uncertainty, and saber rattling in the area have led to many deciding to leave while the way is clear, but airline services from the west have already reduced or suspended service to Ukraine, fearing a repeat of 2014's downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
El Al is one of the few carriers remaining, flying constant scheduled service between their home base and Kiev. Their services boast the most routes between Israel and the USA, with 5 daily flights to New York City and nonstops to Los Angeles and Miami. The operation was approved by El Al CEO Avigal Soreq following multiple advisories around the world to leave while the way is free and clear. If hostilities begin, air carriers will find the region crawling with anti-air defenses manned by (possibly) jumpy young operators - not a recipe for stress-free travel. El Al's seeming fearlessness in the face of danger is not unfounded. It has its roots in their fleet-wide anti-missile defense systems, carried on each aircraft in their fleet. So far, they are alone in their use of countermeasures, making them the perfect operator to keep the travel lines open while tensions run high.
Last week, the U.S. State Department warned American citizens to leave Ukraine, even going so far as to say that those who failed to heed the warning and were later captured would not be rescued. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters "The United States does not typically do mass evacuations. There are a range of means that individuals and Americans can depart from Ukraine, and we've been encouraging them to do exactly that." Until hostilities start, it seems, it's far easier to leave citizens to judge for themselves (and pay their own way).
Soreq sees El Al’s services as a necessary duty as they step up to the plate. "As the national airline of the State of Israel and the main carrier between Israel and the US, we understood the necessity to assist American citizens in returning to the US from the Ukraine, via Tel Aviv.”
More News
Very High Frequency The frequency band between 30 and 300 MHz. Portions of this band, 108 to 118 MHz, are used for certain NAVAIDs; 118 to 136 MHz are used for civil air/ground voi>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Suppliers Association Established February 25, 1993, the Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a not-for-profit association, repre>[...]
Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]
From 2021 (YouTube Version): Colorado Campus Offers aVariety Of Aerospace Entertainment And Education Wings over the Rockies Exploration of Flight is the second location for the Wi>[...]
Also: Paramotor Champ's, Electric Ultralight, ICON BK Update, Burt Rutan at Oshkosh! The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway >[...]