Gaza op to cost El Al up to $17M
Israel's flag carrier says it lost estimated $15-17 million in revenue due to cancellations, drop in bookings as result of eight-days of fighting
El Al, Israel's flag carrier, said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it took unspecified steps to minimize the damage to its profit to between $7 million and $9 million.
It noted that the numbers, which will impact fourth-quarter results, are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
A November 21 Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Islamist group Hamas ended more than a week of fighting in which more than 170 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed.
Israel had launched an air offensive on the Gaza Strip, pounding Hamas targets in Gaza, with the declared aim of stopping rocket fire at its southern towns.
During the conflict, Palestinian militants fired nearly 1,400 rockets and some of these explosives struck close to Israel's largest cities, such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, leading tourists and Israelis to cancel their travel plans.
