EL AL Israel Airlines reported a net profit of $96 million for the first quarter of the year, marking a 19% increase on the same period last year.
As conflicts and tensions continue in the region, the airline noted that some foreign airlines have resumed operations, though at partial capacity, while other have not resumed operations and given up their slots at Israel's main airport Ben Gurion Airport. Delta Air Lines had announced recently that it would be resuming flights to the airport with daily nonstop services. However, Lufthansa has extended its suspension into the country after a risk assessment.
The airline's revenues were up 5% in the quarter to $774 million and its EBITDAR result climbed 9% to $213 million.
Capacity was up 7% during the period, compared to a year prior, while load factor was up one percentage point to 94%. Unit costs were down 2% to 9.62 cents, while unit revenues were flat 10.43 cents.
As of the end of the period, the company had a debt of $1.4bn and a net debt of negative $230 million.