Israir was granted permission to charter passenger planes from foreign leasing companies but all pilots must be Israeli. Dror Marom (Globes Online) 9 Jan 03 19:32 Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) head Amos Amir today approved Israir's request to operate flights between Israel and the US. The route is one of El Al Israel Airlines's central activities. Initially, in addition to El Al, another Israeli airline will operate the route, after which Israir will begin operating the line in June 2003. Israir has been granted permission to operate charter flights, and the company intends to operate three weekly flights. The ICAA gave permission for Israir to land at New York's Kennedy International Airport. The ICAA gave permission for Israir to charter passenger planes from foreign leasing companies but will require all pilots to be Israeli. In the past, Israir was heavily criticized by the National Union of Airline Pilots, after it hired Bulgarian pilots to fly its Boeing 737 aircraft. Israir notified the ICAA of its intention to lease a Boeing 767-300 aircraft for the Tel Aviv - New York route. Another option is a larger Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, which could fly directly from Ben Gurion International Airport to Kennedy without the need for a stop-over to refuel. El Al is the only Israeli airline currently operating a Tel Aviv - New York route, which accounts for 17 out of its approximately 20 weekly flights to the US. In the past, Tel Aviv - New York was the most competitive of all Israeli air-routes, with four airlines operating flights: El Al, TWA, World Airways and Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL, DNT). Approximately 700,000 passengers fly the Tel Aviv - New York route every year. Israir's management decline to disclose details regarding upcoming activity to the US, but did say that it "was accelerating preparations for beginning the new flights with the intention of operating according to the ICAA's directives". Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 09 January 2003