June 8, 1971
After several days of training and an official dedication by Prime Minister Golda Meir, the first El Al flight using a Boeing 747 jumbo jet departs from Lod Airport for London and New York. The plane, fully booked with 400 passengers, is captained by Oded Abarbanel. Hundreds of onlookers watch the takeoff.
The plane had arrived at Lod on June 2 after making two passes over Tel Aviv. Transportation Minister Shimon Peres was among the small group of passengers to make the journey from London. The day before its historic first passenger flight, an inauguration ceremony was held at the airport, and the plane received its informal moniker, “The Flying Elephant,” from the head of El Al, Mordechai Ben-Ari. Meir cut a ribbon tied across its entrance to officially dedicate the aircraft.
When it was unveiled in 1968, the Boeing 747 was the largest and widest passenger airliner yet built. Its size and increased capacity enabled airlines to offer less expensive tickets, thereby opening trans-Atlantic travel to the middle class. Pan American, then one of the world’s largest airlines, ordered 25 Boeing 747s in 1966, then the largest single order for an aircraft model. Pan Am brought the first 747 into service in January 1970 with a flight from New York to London.
In July 1966, British Overseas Airways Corp. announced that it intended to use the jumbo jets on its route from London to Lod (now Ben Gurion International Airport). Other airlines soon made similar announcements, forcing Israel to speed up plans to expand and modernize at the airport, built in the 1930s as a British air force base. Among the changes required by the larger-capacity planes were the ability for customs and immigration authorities to process more arrivals, a longer runway and new equipment for handling passenger baggage. The Israeli Airport Authority also expanded the terminal and constructed a new passenger hall in 1968.
In October 1967, the El Al board of directors voted to acquire new aircraft, including two Boeing 747s, as part of a $200 million, seven-year expansion. The government approved the purchase of only one of the jumbo jets. An initial flight crew was selected in March 1971. After undergoing preliminary training in Israel, the crew trained in London on BOAC’s 747 flight simulator.
