El Al issued instructions to delay until Motzei Shabbos a
flight scheduled to depart from Madrid and land in Israel
late Friday afternoon.
Flight 396 was scheduled to land in Israel at 3:20 p.m. local
time. The plane had already left the terminal with dozens of
passengers on board, but as it started to taxi towards the
takeoff runway a powerful snowstorm began to brew, causing a
delay. The captain notified El Al's operations and control
department that the takeoff was being delayed for two hours,
meaning the estimated arrival time would be very close to
candlelighting time in Israel.
After consulting with the company's rabbi, Rav Yochanan
Chayut, a decision was made to delay the entire flight until
Shabbos ended in Madrid. All of the passengers were provided
with accommodations at hotels in the city.
"The company's policy is to postpone Friday flights that
could result in Shabbat desecration due to technical problems
or delays during takeoff," read a company statement. "El Al
adhered to its commitment not to operate flights after
Shabbos begins."
In response to the scheduling change, Vaadas HaRabbonim
Lemaan haShabbos said, "El Al conducted itself as required in
such situations, and we hope it continues to uphold this
policy in accordance with its commitment not to bring about
any possibility of chilul Shabbos through its
flights."
