As foreign airlines cancel flights to Israel, including Delta, American, United, Air France and Lufthansa, El Al is planning rescue flights to bring home Israelis stranded abroad. El Al said it would, "Work to keep air routes to and from Israel open, even amidst the security threats." El Al said, "Due to the security situation and the changes in the schedules of various airlines, El Al's management today took the decision, with the approval of the board of directors that the airline would keep routes to and from Israel open in all situations in which it is possible to fly." Ben Gurion airport was briefly closed on Tuesday evening when rockets were fired near the airport but has been opened for most of the past 48 hours.<br/>
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Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has announces that starting from Eid day (Thursday) all its its flights will be operated by 100 per cent vaccinated crew including pilots and flight attendants. The airline had kicked off its internal vaccination campaign for the operating crew and front line staff in December itself. "Gulf Air is proud to be one of the first airlines in the world to able to provide peace of mind to all passengers flying to any destination of its growing network," remarked its Acting CEO Captain Waleed Abdulhameed AlAlawi. The airline is also adding Mykonos and Santorini as boutique summer destinations starting from the first week of June until end of September with more destinations planned for the summer holiday.<br/>
China Express Airlines, a regional carrier based in the southwestern city of Chongqing, is betting that its business model of flying heavily subsidised routes using an increasingly Chinese-made fleet will give it an edge over rivals. The airline reported a 22% rise in annual profit last year - a near-impossible feat in the pandemic-ravaged aviation industry - thanks to subsidies of more than 625m yuan ($97.14m) that accounted for 87% of its total profits before tax. Routes in third and fourth-tier cities, 90% of which are monopolies, helped fuel growth and made it the only listed Chinese airline to make a profit in 2020. That put the previously obscure carrier on the radar of investors seeking faster-growing, domestic-focused alternatives to China's three biggest airlines. "The company has very few direct competitors nationwide, but only faces localised competition on their shared routes," said Wu Yifan, transportation analyst at Huachuang Securities. It is benefiting from Beijing's drive to develop new airports in regional areas, as well as a push for locally built jets to challenge the dominance of Airbus, Boeing and Brazil's Embraer.<br/>
Shareholders of Cebu Air, the listed operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, approved on Wednesday the company’s long-term incentive plan for its employees, partly aimed at attracting and retaining key talents. Majority of the shareholders voted to approve the plan during the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Wednesday. “The plan is being established with the following objectives in mind: first, to foster ownership mentality among senior management; second, to drive performance and value creation; and third, to attract, retain and motivate key talents,” Cebu Air Corporate Secretary Anne Romadine P. Tieng said at the meeting. Under the incentive plan, eligible employees may be granted either restricted stock units or stock options. “Any plans of restricted stock units and stock options will be subject to an award agreement, which will contain the terms and conditions of the award,” Tieng said.<br/>