Israel's national carrier El Al estimated on Thursday that the government's latest restrictions on travelers arriving from five European countries would further damage its results.
Israel on Wednesday ordered travelers arriving from Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland to return home into home quarantine over coronavirus concerns.
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"At this stage, the company cannot estimate the extent of this impact," the company said in a regulatory filing.
The Israeli government measure effectively cut off foreign tourism from those countries, whose citizens, the Health Ministry said, would not be allowed into Israel unless they could show they had made quarantine arrangements ahead of time.
Israel has already imposed the edict with regard to flights from Italy, China, Thailand and Singapore.
El Al said on Wednesday before the latest restrictions were announced that it was laying off 1,000 of its 6,000 employees and cutting salaries of top management as it struggles to cope with the impact of the global coronavirus outbreak.
Last week, El Al warned of an expected loss in revenue of $50-$70 million in the January-April period due to coronavirus and it has suspended or cut back on many of its flights to Asia and Europe.
Israel's Histadrut labor federation has already asked the government to intervene with aid and the government has said it is examining ways to help.
"I am determined to do everything to ensure the future of the company and will act with courage, transparency and fairness," El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin said in a statement.
He said El Al's efficiency steps were "painful," but were "meant to allow the company to overcome the crisis and come out stronger."
El Al's labor union responded to Usishkin: "We were dumbfounded to receive the memo circulated by the CEO, as we are meeting with Histadrut and government representatives to try formulating a plan to save the company. It is important for us to clarify to the workers that the union and Histadrut won't agree to any measure that includes firing employees. We call on the company's directorship not to make any unilateral decisions, and likewise, we are calling on the workers of the company not to respond to the CEO's memorandum and to wait for updates and instructions from the union. We promise – El Al is the home of us all and we will do everything we can to save it."
