Israel approves aid plan for aviation sector

Tel Aviv, May 10 (IANS) The Israeli government has approved an aid plan to support the country's coronavirus-hit aviation industry, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.The government approved agreements signed between the Ministry and country's two largest airlines, El Al and Israir, reports Xinhua news agency citing the statement as saying on Sunday. Under the agreements, the aid to El Al and Israir is structured as an advance payment for flight tickets for governmental security guards for a period of 20 years.According to the agreements, El Al will be supported by 685 million shekels ($210 million) for 20 years, and Israir by 52 million shekels.The Ministry conditioned the payments in that the shareholders would also contribute to strengthening the financial stability of the companies.The aid plan replaced an outline previously proposed to El Al to provide a state guarantee for a bank loan.Minister of Finance Israel Katz said "the support is provided due to the difficult and abnormal situation that the Israeli aviation is facing, and to ensure the resilience of Israeli civil aviation".
--IANS ksk/