El Al, Israel's national airline, has canceled several scheduled flights from London to Tel Aviv over the coming months, as it seeks to practice stricter adherence to Shabbat. The move reportedly
comes under the instructions of El Al's new controlling shareholder, Kenny Rozenberg, who is Orthodox.
The airline had been operating a Saturday night flight from the UK after Shabbat ends. However, during Daylight Saving Time, the check-in process starts shortly before Shabbat ends so that the flight can be ready to depart at its designated timeslot. Under the new policy, the practice of operating Saturday night flights will be discontinued, and as a result, 12 flights have been canceled.
El Al has offered affected passengers the choice of a refund or a Friday flight. The company has apologized for any inconvenience caused to its customers, citing Daylight Saving Time and Heathrow scheduling challenges. Photo by Olaf.herfurth, Wikimedia commons.