Palestinian Airlines is being liquidated by the Palestinian Authority. It hasn’t flown in 6 years but has continued to serve as an employer in Gaza. Down to just two Fokker 50 aircraft those were returned from lease by Niger Airlines during the pandemic.
The 1995 Oslo II Accord included international funding for Yasser Arafat International Airport in the Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands donated a Boeing 727 and 2 Fokker 50s to help launch Palestinian Airlines.
The airline began service in 1997 from Port Said and Arish in Egypt to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Amman, Jordan. When the new Gaza airport opened they moved in, and launched routes to 5 countries in the region and added an Ilyushin Il-62 to their fleet.
Palestinian Airlines Fokker 50, credit: Bram Steeman via Wikimedia Commons
But the airline’s operations were shut down during the Second Intifada which began in the fall of 2000 after the 2000 Camp David Summit failed to reach an agreement (July) and Ariel Sharon (peaceful yet provocative, despite advance notice to Palestinian authorities) visited the holy site at the Temple Mount (September). In 2001 Israel destroyed the airport’s control tower and radio tower in 2001, and bulldozed the runway in 2002, to prevent the airline from smuggling weapons into the territory and as a response to killing of Israeli soldiers.
The airline again moved to El Arish International Airport 29 miles away in Egypt, but this wasn’t viable. Egypt could take up to a day to process Palestinians crossing the border. Palestinian Airlines shut down in 2005.
A brief restart of service again based at El Arish in Egypt was attempted in 2012. They offered flights to Cairo, Jeddah and Amman. But it was no more viable seven years later, and the Fokker 50 service was halted after less than two years. Their two remaining planes were leased to Niger Airlines, and Palestinian Airlines hadn’t flown since 2014.
Niger Airlines returned the leased aircraft in summer 2020. At this point Paleistinian Airlines reportedly still had 140 employees. The Palestinian Authority has announced Palestinian Airlines will be liquidated (at closure they reported just 2 pilots, 3 administrative staff and 3 ground staff). The Fokker 50s are for sale.
Niger Airlines? Fokk me! On a blog notorious for typos I bet this post got more careful editing than usual.
“Ariel Sharon (peaceful yet provocative, despite advance notice to Palestinian authorities) visited the Muslim holy site at the Temple Mount (September).”
“Muslim Holy Site” is sort of a funny way to put it considering that the Temple Mount is also the single most holy site in all of Judaism, and Muslims consider it a holy site significantly because it was associated with Jewish Biblical prophets who are also revered by Islam.
If it’s “provocative” to peacefully visit the most holy site in one’s religion, consider how provocative it is to ban people from the most holy site in their religion, as Jews are essentially banned from visiting the Temple Mount. It’s also worth noting that Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount from Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have also been greeted with hostility by local Arabs.
I think this article also leaves out perhaps the most significant fact about the fortunes of Palestinian Airlines. In 2007 elections were held in Gaza which led to the election of an Administration led by Hamas – considered a Terrorist Organization by the USA, EU, and Japan – which started a civil war and campaign of murder against the PLO’s Fatah Party which controls the rest of the Palestinian Authority, and still runs Gaza until this day and Gaza’s first election will also be its last. This fact is as much or more important than any other in rendering Palestinian Airlines and its continued operation and funding unviable.
Yes, I agree that Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley was a terrorist for bulldozing the runway of Meigs Field in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t be surprised if he practiced it one year earlier at Gaza Airport. Mayor Daley, of course, would disagree and claims it was an enhancement.
The only country being “wiped off the map” here is Palestine.