EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd.

EL AL Israel Airlines took to the skies just weeks after the state of Israel was born. On September 28, 1948, a converted military transport plane made the inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv, carrying 40 passengers and a cargo of hope. From those early days, the airline became a lifeline for a nation under siege, bringing in immigrants, supplies, and connecting the fledgling country to the global community. Today, EL AL remains the dominant carrier at Ben Gurion Airport, flying to nearly 50 destinations across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.

The airline is perhaps best known for two things: its legendary security apparatus and its unwavering observance of Jewish tradition. EL AL's security protocols are among the strictest in the world, with armed sky marshals on every flight, reinforced cockpit doors, and rigorous pre-flight profiling. This vigilance has paid off: in the airline's history, only one EL AL flight has ever been hijacked, and that incident, a 1968 Rome-Tel Aviv flight, ended without casualties. On the religious side, EL AL serves only kosher meals on all flights and completely shuts down operations for Shabbat and all Jewish holidays, a policy that sets it apart from every other major international carrier.

EL AL has also played a starring role in some of Israel's most dramatic humanitarian operations. In 1991, during Operation Solomon, a single EL AL Boeing 747 carried a world-record 1,088 passengers, two babies were born mid-flight, airlifting Ethiopian Jews to Israel in a covert, 36-hour mission. That record still stands. More recently, the airline weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with a government-backed rescue package and a shift to private ownership: in late 2020, Eli Rozenberg acquired a controlling 42.85% stake, ending decades of state control. Under CEO Levi HaLevi, the carrier is now focused on fleet modernization and financial stability, even as it navigates periodic regional conflicts that ground other airlines but rarely stop EL AL.[edit]