El Al effort to reward soldiers serving in the war with free tickets hits snags

El Al's effort to reward soldiers serving in the war with 10,000 free tickets hit a snag yesterday, as over 60,000 eligible recipients entered the site at once and the tickets ran out within an hour, according to Globes.

Per the report, many complained about the site not functioning under the strain, the fact that those with free tickets would still have to pay port taxes and fees, and the fact that recipients would need to sign up to the company's frequent flier program to be eligible. Furthermore, many soldiers in combat understandably do not have access to phone or computers to sign up for free tickets.

To compensate for the bumpy giveaway, El Al declared that it would be offering another 5,000 free tickets today (Wednesday) and another 5,000 tickets tomorrow, as well as a variety of other discounts and benefits to serving soldiers.

Meanwhile, foreign airlines are starting to return to service Israel, with United Airlines restarting service March 3, according to Ynet.