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The plot to shoot the plane was uncovered by Claude Kuvasi, a Swiss secret service member who worked under the codename Babylon. Swiss newspaper Blick reported that Kuvasi was planted as an undercover agent in an Islamic center in Geneva to find out if a terror cell was operating in it. In order to encourage the trust of the head of the Islamic center, Hani Ramadan, Kuvasi converted to Islam. According to reports, one of the operatives of the centers told the agent, who was dining with him, that he was a member of a cell planning to blow up...

El Al to go the Airbus route for first time By National air carrier El Al has decided for the first time to by Airbus airplanes instead of purchasing from Boeing. TheMarker has learned that a delegation of high level executives from the European consortium is about to sign a contract and financing arrangements with the heads of the Israeli airline. A series of meetings, held under a veil of secrecy, ended Tuesday night at the Ramat Hahayal offices of the Borovich Mozes Group. It was agreed that Airbus financial experts will come to Israel immediately after Passover to iron...

SEATTLE, Dec. 13, 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE- BA] and El Al Airlines of Israel have signed an agreement for the purchase of two Boeing 777-200ER (Extended Range) jetliners. The airplanes, together valued at $362 million at list prices, are scheduled for delivery in 2007. The new 777-200ERs will help El Al expand service to meet growing demand for air travel in the Israeli market. El Al already operates four 777s on routes to New York and the Far East from Tel Aviv and will operate the new 777s to destinations in the U.S. and the Far East. "The...

El Al profit up despite fuel prices The airline’s revenue rose 17% to $485.2 million in the third quarter, and profit was $52.2 million. Yuval Mendelson 24 Nov 05 09:39El Al Israel Airlines (TASE: ELAL), controlled by Knafaim-Arkia Holdings (TASE: KNFM), today reported its results for the third quarter of 2005. The report can be summarized as an improvement, despite higher fuel prices. It is important to mention that, over the past year, ticket prices charged by El Al and other international airlines have risen along with fuel prices. El Al posted a $52.2 million net profit in the third...

Dutch television announced on Friday that Netherlands police arrested a youth who allegedly intended to shoot down an El Al airplane at Schipool Airport outside of Amsterdam. Samir Azuz, 19, a Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent, was arrested with six other co-conspirators, Israel Radio reported. According to the Netherlands intelligence service, the suspects enlisted the cooperation of two employees at an office near Schipool in order to perform reconnaissance. They also acquired weapons. Reports revealed that Azuz, apparently expecting to die while bringing down the airplane, had prepared a videotape saying goodbye to his parents. Approximately six months ago Azuz...

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - El Al Israel Airlines said on Sunday it signed an agreement with Boeing Co. for the purchase of two 777-200 ER jets for about $246 million. El Al, Israel's national carrier, expects to take delivery of the long-range wide-body jets in 2007. Each aircraft will cost between $117 million and $123 million, in accordance with the extras the company orders, El Al said in a statement.

El Al suspends all Turkey flights El Al says is trying to find alternative flights for stranded passengers Israeli airline El Al has suspended all its flights to Turkey in a row over security in Istanbul. The suspension, which started on Thursday, has left air passengers stranded in both Turkey and Israel. The dispute follows weeks of growing tension between the two countries' governments, after Turkey's prime minister criticised Israel's treatment of Palestinians. But the row is thought to be unrelated to Thursday's bomb attacks in Turkey. The flights were halted after reports that the number of Israeli guards permitted...

Israel has asked the United States to allow El Al planes to land in its airports while equipped with new "FlightGuard" devices. FlightGuard is a special system designed to protect civil aircraft from missiles. Israel Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who left at the end of last week on a trip to the U.S., will discuss the missile defense system with his American counterpart, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. An initial test of the FlightGuard system on El Al aircraft is scheduled for this coming June. Israel's Transportation Ministry intends to equip all civilian aircraft with the missile defense system; as a...

The "Flight Guard" electronic counter-measure system to protect civilian aircraft against shoulder-fired surface to air missiles will be installed on El Al planes in June, as part of an Israel Civil Aviation Administration (ICAA) test, Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), however, refuses to allow civilian planes to be equipped with the flare-based system due to the safety risks. According to Transportation Ministry spokesman Avner Ovadiah, the new anti-missile system will be installed on one El Al aircraft in June, with tests lasting two to three months. If the tests are successful, he said,...

El Al Israel Airlines is to begin testing a system to guard its aircraft against missiles, a government official said Thursday, 19 months after an Israeli civilian jet narrowly escaped being shot down by two shoulder-fired missiles in Kenya. El Al has long had one of the most intensive security systems in international aviation, but the Kenya attack - against an Israeli Arkia charter jet - underscored the need to protect its aircraft from missiles. Israeli experts said the attack failed because the missiles were old and inaccurate, and not - as had been speculated at the time - because...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is equipping its El Al fleet with an anti-missile system and the national carrier's first plane protected by the device will take to the air by June, the Transportation Ministry said on Thursday. Israeli aviation sources said they believed El Al was the first airline to install the countermeasures. International experts have said they expected other airlines to follow suit within months in response to global terrorism fears. Israel stepped up efforts to adapt military anti-missile systems for its civilian aircraft after an Israeli Arkia charter jet came under attack from shoulder-held missiles in Kenya in...

El Al places firearms in the suitcases of some passengers without their knowledge as part of a training exercise for security personnel. The practice was exposed last week after a passenger returning to Israel from Frankfurt opened his suitcase to find a pistol that did not belong to him. After alerting the police, the passenger was informed that it was a simulated weapon used by El Al security in training exercises. El Al is negotiating with the startled customer over appropriate compensation. "El Al Israel Airlines uses various measures and systems to ensure passenger safety," a spokesman for the airline...

Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) Flight Guard anti-missile system for civilian airliners has passed the development stage and is currently being installed on El Al passenger jets according to a report by Globes. El Al purchased the first systems from IAI subsidiary Elta Electronic Industries in recent weeks according to the Globes report and the system is expected to be installed on El Al’s Boeing 767s within two months. The Defense Ministry, which is paying for the purchase of the new systems, has budgeted 6 million shekels for El Al’s initial purchase of the systems. The estimated cost of one system...

<p>An al Qaeda suspect in custody in Belgium told American investigators he saw members of the terror organization training snipers in preparation for attacks on U.S. soil, a source told The Post last night.</p> <p>One of the planned attacks targeted U.S. senators on a golf course.</p>

The missile threat that diverted an El Al flight from Toronto to Montreal Thursday was gaining weight Sunday as Canadian police traced the origins and destination of a German-made rocket launcher. The Calgary Sun reported that the equipment found among 14 caches of weapons entered Canada at a postal plant between April 2001 and March 2003. The rocket shoulder launcher can be outfitted with heat-seeking missiles, and officials have said that a heat-seeking missile was to be used in the attack. The RCMP, Peel police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) agents are trying to trace the locally based threatening...

Canadian security officials said that they received a "serious threat" against a Toronto-bound El Al passenger jet, forcing two flights to be diverted over the weekend to alternative airports. According to the officials, the threat involved a heat-seeking shoulder-mounted missile that was to be fired at a plane as it was landing, or small arms fire that would have been directed at the plane while it was on the tarmac. "It was a serious threat," an airport official told The Calgary Sun Saturday on the condition of anonymity. "We understand the target was to be attacked on the tarmac." The...

El Al Plane Avoids Toronto for 2nd Day Saturday October 25, 2003 1:31 AM TORONTO (AP) - An Israeli flight was diverted from Toronto to Hamilton, Ontario, for a second straight day Friday due to an unspecified security threat, authorities said. An El Al flight from Tel Aviv was sent to Hamilton, 40 miles southwest of Toronto, Thursday because of a phone call that raised security concerns. It reached Los Angeles later that night then made the return trip Friday with a stop in Hamilton instead of Toronto's Pearson Airport before continuing on to Tel Aviv, said police spokesman Todd...

HAMILTON (CP) - The diversion of an El Al flight from Toronto's Pearson Airport to nearby Hamilton on Thursday was due to a missile threat, an Israeli source confirmed Friday. The flight, with 180 passengers aboard, let off Toronto-bound passengers in Hamilton before continuing to Los Angeles. The return flight to Israel also landed at Hamilton instead of Toronto on its way back Friday. Transport Minister David Collenette, speaking from Ottawa, said the plane was diverted again because El Al believed the threat against the plane continued. He would not give details about that threat, but an Israeli source told...

HAMILTON, ONT. - An Israeli airliner made an emergency landing Thursday in Hamilton, where it was met by tactical police teams. The El Al jet was diverted to Hamilton airport because of undisclosed threats to the plane and to Pearson airport in Toronto, where it had been scheduled to land. Officials at John C. Munro airport said the plane was initially diverted to Montreal. After touching down there, the plane continued to Hamilton so passengers headed for Toronto could complete their trip by bus. The plane was scheduled to take on passengers in Toronto before leaving for Los Angeles. Passengers...

(IsraelNN.com) El Al flight 105 to (Toronto - Los Angeles) has been diverted from Toronto to Montreal by the control tower due to a “security alert” according to the El Al spokesman. There are no details. The plane landed in Montreal without incident and is now refueling to continue. The 767 jumbo was carrying 180 passengers when ordered to divert. El Al is making arrangements for the 44 Toronto passengers to reach their destination. In addition, 45 passengers in Toronto will be brought to the plane to continue with the flight.