El Al announced today (Thursday) that it has been forced to cancel the launch of its direct route to Hanoi, Vietnam, which was scheduled to begin operating this October.
The reason: Israeli security authorities operating under the guidance of the Shin Bet (ISA, aka Israel Security Agency) and responsible for securing Israeli aviation did not grant the approvals required to operate the route.
1+The announcement comes after El Al had already unveiled the new destination, opened the flights for sale and sold tickets to passengers. The airline stressed that before announcing the route, it had worked to obtain the necessary approvals and, according to the company, had received preliminary authorization from the relevant authorities—including security officials.
However, after El Al completed its operational and commercial preparations for the route and invested what it described as “enormous resources,” security authorities informed the airline that the necessary approvals could not be granted for flights operated using Israeli aircraft and crews. “In the absence of the security approvals required to operate the route as planned, there was no choice but to cancel its launch,” El Al said.
1+The airline apologized to passengers who had already purchased tickets and announced a flexible change policy. Affected passengers will be offered several options: flying to Hanoi through Bangkok, with the connecting flight operated by a foreign airline at no additional cost; switching to another destination among El Al’s available routes on the same dates at no additional charge; or receiving a full refund or credit voucher for future use.
The flights will be canceled gradually according to their originally scheduled departure dates, and affected customers are expected to begin receiving individual notifications next week.