Palestinian Airlines
{{Short description|Palestinian airline}}
{{For|similarly named airline|Palestine Airways}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Palestinian Airlines
الخطوط الجوية الفلسطينية
| logo = Palestinian Airlines.PNG
| logo_size = 250
| IATA = PF
| ICAO = PNW
| callsign = PALESTINIANhttps://123atc.com/call-sign/PNW
| parent = Palestinian Authority
| company_slogan =
| founded = 1995
| headquarters = Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine
| key_people = {{nowrap|Saad Eddin Kharma, Chairman}}
| hubs = El Arish International Airport
| secondary_hubs =
| focus_cities =
| frequent_flyer =
| lounge =
| alliance =
| website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20181223121236/http://palairlines.net/}}
| image =
| aoc =
| num_employees = 8 (as of December 2020)
}}
Palestinian Airlines was an airline headquartered in Gaza City, Palestine,{{Cite web|title=Palestinian Airlines Airline Profile {{!}} CAPA|url=https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airlines/palestinian-airlines-pf|access-date=2021-01-12|website=centreforaviation.com}} and based at El Arish International Airport in Arish, Egypt.{{cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 61 | date= 2007-04-10}} Fully owned by the Palestinian Authority, it commenced operations in 1995 and offered flights in the Middle East. In 2020, the company was put into liquidation after years of limited operations.
History
The airline was established on 1 January 1995 and started operations in June 1997, with series of charter flights carrying pilgrims to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The flights were operated from Port Said, in northern Egypt. Scheduled services began on 23 July 1997, operating from Arish to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
Palestinian Airlines acquired a second Boeing 727 in addition to an already leased one in May 1998.[https://www.flightglobal.com/palestinian-expands-with-boeing-727-200-acquisition/21063.article flightglobal.com - Palestinian expands with Boeing 727-200 acquisition] 20 May 1998 Shortly after, it transferred its base to Gaza following the opening of the airport in November 1998 and added a number of new routes in the region.[https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/05/25/palestinian-airlines-the-homeless-flag-carrier/ airlinegeeks.com - Palestinian Airlines: The Homeless Flag Carrier] 25 May 2018 By mid-2000, the company was operating to seven destinations, stretching from Larnaca in the west to Dubai in the east.{{cite news | url=https://www.joc.com/air-cargo/palestinians-plan-cargo-terminal-gaza-airport_20000508.html | title=Palestinians plan cargo terminal at Gaza airport | work=The Journal of Commerce | date=8 May 2000 | access-date=27 May 2021 | last=Luxner|first=Larry | url-access=subscription}} The airline was grounded in October 2000 following the start of the Second Intifada and was forced to move to El Arish International Airport in December 2001, after bulldozing of the runway by Israel at its previous base Yasser Arafat International Airport, where it operated limited services.
It stopped its operations in 2005 but resumed limited services in May 2012. It had 98 employees as of March 2007. Palestinian Airlines was wholly owned by the Palestinian Authority but not recognized by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation. It also was a member of the Arab Air Carriers' Organization.{{Cite web|title=AACO {{!}} Member Airlines|url=http://aaco.org/aaco-community/member-airlines|access-date=2020-12-30|website=AACO: Arab Air Carriers Organization - الإتحاد العربي للنقل الجوي|language=en}}
In summer 2020, a long term leasing agreement for both the airline's aircraft with Niger Airlines ended, worsening its financial situation. As of September 2020, both of the airline's Fokker 50 were offered for sale.{{cite web|url=http://palairlines.net/?p=29938|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815052111/http://palairlines.net/?p=29938|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 15, 2020|title=U R G E N T – FOKKER 50 – AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SALE}}{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/palestinian-airlines-offers-fokker-50-fleet-for-sale/139803.article|title=Palestinian Airlines offers Fokker 50 fleet for sale}} In December 2020, the liquidation of Palestinian Airlines was announced, with the Palestinian Authority not seeing a positive future perspective, marking the end of its operations.{{cite news|url=https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/98953-palestinian-airlines-goes-into-liquidation|title=Palestinian Airlines goes into liquidation|website=Channel Aviation|date=30 December 2020|access-date=3 January 2025|url-access=subscription}}[https://www.aerotelegraph.com/liquidierung-palestinian-airlines-palaestinenser-verlieren-ihre-nationalairline aerotelegraph.com - "Palestinians lose their national airline"] (German) 31 December 2020 At the time of closure, only eight employees remained.
Destinations
File:Palestinian Airlines Boeing 727-230-Adv Hoppe.jpg at Dubai International Airport in 1999.]]
File:SU-YAH_(21194058876).jpg in 2012.]]
Palestinian Airlines served the following destinations as of May 2013:{{cite web|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2012/May/middleeast_May132.xml§ion=middleeast |title=Palestinian Airlines resumes operations |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307141015/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data%2Fmiddleeast%2F2012%2FMay%2Fmiddleeast_May132.xml§ion=middleeast |url-status=live |archivedate=March 7, 2014 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.palairlines.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34&Itemid=171&lang=en |title=Palestinian Airlines Time Table |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925000219/http://www.palairlines.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34&Itemid=171&lang=en |url-status=dead |archivedate=September 25, 2014 |access-date=July 25, 2014 }}
;Egypt
;Saudi Arabia
=Former aircraft=
The airline previously operated the following aircraft:
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Palestinian Airlines}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060118111117/http://www.palairlines.com/ Official website on web.archive.org]
{{Portalbar|Palestine|Aviation}}
Category:Airlines established in 1995
Category:Airlines disestablished in 2020
Category:1995 establishments in Palestine