El Al Israel Airlines Ltd (TASE: ELAL), trading as El Al (Hebrew: אל על, "To The Skies" or "Skywards", Arabic: إل عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve some 45 destinations, operating scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Near and Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport.
El Al in principle offers only kosher in-flight meals and does not fly passengers on the Jewish Sabbath or religious holidays. It is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. Although it has been the target of many attempted hijackings and terror attacks, only one El Al flight was successfully hijacked. As Israel's national airline, El Al has played an important role in humanitarian rescue efforts, airlifting Jews from other countries to Israel, setting the world record for the most passengers on a commercial aircraft by Operation Solomon when 14,500 Jewish refugees were transported from Ethiopia in 1991.
In 2011, El Al operated an all-Boeing fleet of 44 aircraft, flying over 2 million passengers, and employed a staff of 6,056 globally. The company's revenues for 2011 grew to $2.4 billion, totalling losses of $49.4 million compared to a profit of $57 million in 2010.
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