No pilot found to fly Netanyahu and his wife to Italy

It was announced that none of the pilots of the Israeli state airline El Al had volunteered to fly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, to Rome, the Italian capital, for an official visit.

A volunteer pilot could not be found to fly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu to the Italian capital Rome on Thursday for an official visit. In the news in the Israeli press, it was stated that the application period for the advertisement filed by the Israeli state airline El Al for Netanyahu's visit to italy ended at 14:00 local time, and none of the pilots applied to fly Netanyahu and his wife.

In the news, it was claimed that the pilots showed their reaction by not applying for the flight in question because they were against Netanyahu's controversial judicial reform, while in some news it was claimed that Netanyahu wanted to fly to Italy with a Boeing 777 type plane and had difficulty in finding a suitable pilot for the plane in question.

Noting the lack of qualified pilots in the fleet, El Al said in a statement shortly after the closing of applications, "Because, among other things, due to the shortage of qualified pilots in the 777 squadron, the issue of staffing for the Prime flight has not yet been finalized in accordance with the company's procedures, as we have done countless times in the past. Throughout the years of the country's existence, El Al has flown heads of state to important political missions and will continue to do so in the future as needed.

El Al has still not fully returned to service since suspending its flights during the Covid-19 outbreak.

If the pilot crisis continues, it is expected that Netanyahu and his wife will fly a Boeing 737 passenger plane instead of a Boeing 777, or rent a plane from abroad.