El Al Flies Repatriation Flight

A Prelude of Whats to Come?

15 October 2020

Israel flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines flew B787-900 (4X-EDM) repatriation flight to Manila from Tel Aviv under Flight No. LY 063 which landed at NAIA on Wednesday morning, carrying around 250 Filipino agricultural student trainees from Israel. 

The passengers are student trainees that came from different universities and colleges in the Philippines under the Agro Studies program sponsored by the Israeli government, and has completed 11-month on-the-job training course under combined academic learning and practical work in the latest farming techniques and technologies. 

 

This is the second flight of the airline to the country, a historic first in the last seven years that symbolized the "good relations" between the two nations, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz said.

 

The first El Al flight was in November 2013 when two Israeli planes carried humanitarian  teams and aid to the Philippine via Mactan Cebu airport to assist the country during the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda. 

"It was one of the biggest relief operations that Israel has ever conducted. The Israeli delegation of doctors, nurses, and paramedics and Israeli Foreign Ministry and Defense personnel provided a field hospital and helped repair damaged infrastructures such as schools and water facilities particularly in Bogo, Cebu," the Embassy said.

Approximately 5,000 Filipino students already participated in the Agro Studies program. Another batch of flight from Israel to the Philippines is scheduled later this month, the Israel Embassy in Manila said.

The Embassy looks forward to the direct flight services between the two countries to be implemented soon after the Covid19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Israel Embassy in Manila)