Tel Aviv, Mar 22 (IANS): Israel's flag carrier El Al has announced that most of its flights will remain suspended due to Covid-19, even though the country has reopened its skies.

In an announcement on Sunday, the airline also said that most of its employees will remain on unpaid leave at least until April 30, reports Xinhua news agency.

The airline stopped regular flights in March 2020, about a month after the onset of the pandemic in Israel, and has since postponed the resumption of most flights several times.

El Al noted that 4,297 of its 6,200 employees are on unpaid leaves, and the return of employees to work will be gradual, depending on the scope of the flights.

From March 16, Israel started allowing flights from all destinations to the country, following a decision by the cabinet to enable nationals to arrive ahead of the March 23 general elections.

However, the cabinet decided to keep a quota of no more than 3,000 arrivals per day.

Passengers will be required to carry out coronavirus tests at the airport.

Israel had imposed a ban on incoming and outgoing flights on January 24.

It later eased the restrictions, allowing some flights from London, Frankfurt, Paris, Kiev, and New York.