The union representing pilots at American Airlines has told its members to refuse to fly to Israel, citing security concerns in the region. Is this well-intentioned or a totally unnecessary stunt to keep the outage machine running in the midst of war?
Union To American Airlines Pilots: Refuse To Fly To Israel
Over the weekend, Hamas terrorists launched an unexpected multi-front attack on Israel, launching thousands of bombs and kidnapping Israeli citizens and foreigners in border towns near the Gaza Strip.
Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv has been announced as a specific target and most foreign airlines, including all US airlines, suspended service to TLV.
But that did not stop Ed Sicher, president of the Allied Pilots Association, from sending an email to members urging them to refuse to fly to Israel until they “can be reasonably assured of the region’s safety and security.”
His email notes the U.S. State Department warning advising citizens to exercise increased caution when traveling to Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest.
“It is not prudent or appropriate to knowingly put our flight crews and passengers in harm’s way by maintaining flights into a war zone.”
But I wonder if the union supported the extra section American Airlines ran from Tel Aviv to New York in order to evacuate employees and other pass rider? Were the pilots who operated AA9602 violating union directives?
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) October 8, 2023
I do not mean to read too much into this situation, but the timing of the note just seems off…do you really think American Airlines is going to run its multi-million dollar jets into TLV when the airport is under threat of attack and therefore so are its employees and passengers? That is absurd.
While Israeli flag carrier El Al, which is equipped with missile defense systems, will continue to operate intercontinental flights, all three US carriers have suspended service. I expect we will not see this service resume until it is safe to do so.
CONCLUSION
Did American Airlines really need to be reminded not to continue service during a war? Or, even after securing a new contract, was the announcement meant to stir up the base? I’m not certain…
I have many thoughts on Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, which I will reveal when the context is appropriate. For now, I hope those Palestinians who find themselves at the mercy of their unelected terrorist leaders will seek shelter from the coming storm.
image: Valentin Hintikka / CC 2.0
EL AL has guts and class .
And missile defense systems…
And likely former IDF pilots flying them.
I don’t see the contradiction. I’m sure the crew of 9602 was volunteer. And do you suggest that AA leave their non-revs in harm’s way?
During a war? Yes. Let the Biden administration evacuate them.
9692 was AA145 which cancelled, not a volunteer crew. Was supposed to be on that flight lol
Citing State Dept Level 2 as a reason not to fly? Then they should refuse all assignments to: Belize, Peru, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, India, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago.
Union going to do Union stuff. The union exists partially to advocate for the union members safe working conditions as best as possible, thus the union advocated for safety. It’s similar to boilerplate in a legal contract. Nothing special seeing how all the EU airlines that usually fly to Israel halted operations, adding in the fact that the EU leaders love their labor unions and their EU safety and health mandates.
They are not unelected.
Gaza voted for Hamas back in 2006. Hamas is the elected government of Gaza
Refusing to hold elections makes the “elected” leaders de facto unelected leaders…
Does not change the fact they were elected.
Gaza is finding out elections have consequences
I appreciate this sentiment, but it seems like support for Hamas, at least before the start of this conflict, remained high in Gaza, and they likely would have won at least the same share of the vote that they did back in 2006.
This is not a defense is Hamas at all, simply an acknowledgement of how the residents of Gaza seem to feel.
It may be a case akin to those who support a political party even though it is against their self-interests. But I have to wonder.
I am an attorney. The United Nations defines genocide as…”a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.” Element One: Intent to Destroy – That’s pretty obvious. Israel is bombing and shelling the civilian population indiscriminately (including hospitals and camps knowing there are children). They have also cut off fresh water and electricity to Gaza. Either one would be enough, this element is met.
Element two: National, Ethnic, Racial, or Religious Group – Again, pretty obvious we have Palestinians who are a national group and ethnic group and we have Arabs who are a racial group. The only one we don’t have is religious because there are Christians, Druze, and Non-Religious people being targeted as well. Element three: in whole or in part – Again, pretty obviously this is met. The Israelis have been wiping out anyone who does not leave the north end of Gaza and has targeted exit points, not that there was anywhere to exit to. Their goal has always been to have ALL of Palestine. Finally, you will notice that they don’t have to have actually SUCCEDED COMPLETELY in all of these to be guilty, they just need to show INTENT. The acts they have committed have demonstrated sufficient intent. Israeli is likely guilty of GENOCIDE. Now, on to ethnic cleansing. According to international law, “rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious group,” is ethnic cleansing. Israel issued orders to leave, orders which the U.N. said were impossible, but before that they had already started shelling and killing. All Palestinians are to be wiped of the part of the earth called Gaza, their home and ancestral land. This is sufficient to prove a prima facie case for ethnic cleansing. Now that we have established that Israel is likely guilty of both genocide and ethnic cleansing, do you still think the “outrage machine” should be quiet?
I strongly disagree with you. At the very outset, Israel has no intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group – only Hamas. You don’t see the difference?
The idea that Israel is shelling civilians “indiscriminately” is not my assessment of the facts reported on the ground. That Hamas uses its own people as a human shield is disgusting, but that is on Hamas, not Israel.
You say, “Their goal has always been to have ALL of Palestine,” but that is simply not correct – Palestinians have been offered a state on numerous occasions and it is Palestinians who have refused to compromise. That doesn’t mean Israel’s hands are clean, but Palestinian leaders in both Gaza and the West Bank have exacerbated the issue and failed the people they claim to represent. Did you hear the recent interview of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas? Disgusting devil.
I also disagree with your contention that a prime facie case of ethnic cleansing has been established. Israel advised Gazans to temporarily flee for their own safety because Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism. Israeli action should be lauded as a degree of benevolence that terrorist pigs from Hamas did not grant to Israeli civilians.
@Matthew
“..sending an email to members using them to refuse to fly to Israel….”
Did you mean to say : “ sending an email to members URGING them to refuse to fly to Israel…”
From what I’ve read so far, most governments are using military airframes to evacuate their respective citizens. Greece is allowing Poland to use one of its airports as a staging area for Polish evacuation flights. However, Switzerland will use a Swiss airline jet for its citizens.
El Al and Turkish Airlines still have service to Israel.
This is why it’s import to register with the State Department when traveling abroad.
“I hope those Palestinians who find themselves at the mercy of their unelected terrorist leaders will seek shelter from the coming storm.”
The same for those at the mercy of their colonial apartheid occupiers and jailers…
Are you justifying the terrorism of Hamas?
Does an Israeli blockade justify the deliberate and targeted murder of civilians?
Actually, one can be against Hamas but also want freedom and the end of the occupation for the Palestinians as well. They aren’t mutually exclusive Matthew, not even in your myopic view of the situation.
A 16 year blockade with someone else deciding how much electricity and water and basic supplies, as well as someone else controlling your air, land, and sea borders…I wonder how you would feel living under those conditions.
Where do you suggest civilians in Gaza seek shelter? Their homes in Gaza aren’t shelter from attack; and it’s not like Israel, Egypt, Jordan or Lebanon want to become the Palestinian homeland. Israel made Gaza into a miserable open air prison, and the prisoners have gone on a beastly rampage against the prison overlord who is now willing to even sacrifice its own people taken as hostages by the rioting prisoners willing to terrorize those inside the prison and those outside.
they deserve it.
there is no such thing as palestine.
These are just arab squatters on jewish land.
Apartheid is justified.
Savages should be conquered by those that are better than them
Hamas doesn’t seem opposed to the idea of firing toward TLV and hitting it if they can. So there seems to be a plausible security reason to not want to fly there or they risk being like US Senator Cory Booker in possibly having to find emergency shelter because of Hamas.
Remember when PAN AM flew into active war zones during Vietnam. They worked trips in cold war Moscow shuttling foreign dignitaries…..and ferried and hauled uranium for the atomic bomb. Now THAT was an AIRLINE, too bad we don’t have an airline with balls anymore.
If only Hooters airlines was still around. Now THAT was an airline with balls.
Balls or boobs?
I’m going to agree with you here Matthew. Ed Sicher is a bull in a china shop and this message came across as extremely tone deaf, but when one is happy hearing how loud one shouts, well… you end up being pretty deaf. This memo really doesn’t show anywhere near the leadership displayed by United when they turned UA954 back to SFO. Someone with judgment decided their other planes from IAD and EWR were enough to successfully achieve their objectives.
But to clear things up and present this accurately, what AA calls an “extra section” really wasn’t an extra flight. AA9602 was operated by the aircraft that flew AA146 that arrived that evening and crewed by the pilots and FAs that flew AA146 the previous day. The inbound crew deadheaded out on AA9602 with whatever non-revs decided to join them.
Are there SERIOUSLY people arguing for planes to be flown into a country where has broken out less than a week before? Please tell me that people here are not supporting that.
They’re just upset because of all the open reward availability for upgrades to United Polaris…. Horrible missed opportunity!