El Al Airlines is extending its suspension of all flights through the end of August, Globes reported on Thursday.

It cited the mandatory two-week quarantine for Israelis arriving from abroad and the entry ban for foreign travelers as the key reasons behind the move.

The beleaguered airline also stated that it has finalized its last streamlining agreement with its pilots’ union through the Histadrut labor union which paved the way to compliance with the Finance Ministry’s bailout plan. The ministry has demanded that El Al implement extreme cost-cutting measures as a condition for its bailout plan which involves about $400 million in cutbacks.

The pilots’ union was the last holdout but Histadrut finally signed the agreement in the pilots’ name on Wednesday, with Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David saying that the pilots were “hard nuts to crack.” The pilots claimed that they were “ambushed” by Histadrut.

The streamlining contract with the pilots, which will save El Al $105 million, calls for 71 of El Al’s 650 pilots to be laid off and another 50 to retire. It is the last agreement that El Al needs in order to fulfill the requirements of the government’s bailout plan.

El Al already signed three streamlining contracts with its administrative staff, mechanics and flight attendants, which calls for 1,750 layoffs.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)