Transport Minister Haim Corfu today paid his first official visit to El Al headquarters at Ben Gurion Airport since taking over the ministry last week. He discussed with airline officials the implications of closing down the airline on Sabbath and holidays, as demanded by Aguda Israel in the coalition agreement.
Airline officials told him the Sabbath ban would lead to the dismissal of about 250 employees, including pilots and cabin crews, and cost the airline over $50 million a year in lost revenue.
El Al has anticipated some 90,000 passengers next year aboard special Sabbath charter and pilgrim flights. These will be lost to the company itself, though some may be transferred to its recently-established subsidiary Sun D’Or Charter Company which flies planes with a different livery and attendant uniforms and without any mention of El Al or any writing in Hebrew on its fuselage.
TEL AVIV MAYOR REJECTS ORTHODOX DEMAND
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat today rejected a demand by Orthodox members of the municipal council to close down the newly-opened Dolphinarium on the sea front on Sabbath and holidays. He said he would agree to close shops and cinemas in the Dolphinarium complex, but would not ban the dolphin and sea lion shows or restaurants there.
The dolphinarium, a million-dollar investment by South African investors, opened last month and the dolphin display has been showing to “sold out” audiences, especially on Shabbat. The owners say they will have to wind up the business if forced to close on Saturdays. The demand to close the dolphinarium was made by deputy Mayor Haim Basok, who heads the religious faction on the council.
Basok admitted to Israel Radio today there was a “natural linkage” between his demand and the success of Aguda Israel in obtaining its religious observance demands from Premier Menachem Begin. Lahat said the city was suffering from competition between the National Religious Party and the Aguda as to who could wring the most concessions on matters of religious observance.
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