Skift Take

Over 5,000 round-trip tickets from New York to Tel Aviv sold for a quarter of the usual fare on Monday after news of the computer glitch spread through social media and New York's large Jewish community.

Samantha Shankman

A three-hour glitch that drastically lowered round-trip airfare between New York and Israel on El Al Airlines created a run on tickets.

At least 5,000 tickets were purchased Monday after El Al posted fares for less than $400, down from an average of $1,600.

says news of the bargain fare quickly spread through New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities after an online bargain fare site sent out an alert. Many purchased tickets for members of their large families.

El Al blames the glitch on a contractor responsible for posting fares. It says it will decide this week whether to honor the tickets.

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Associated Press

August 9th, 2012 at 2:56 AM EDT

Tags: el al, israel, nyc

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