El Al said it is discontinuing its weekly flights to Cairo.

In a letter published in the daily Maariv, El Al Airlines CEO Eliezer Shkedi said Israel’s official airline cannot afford the high security and operating costs for the nearly empty flights, according to news reports.

The airline declined comment.

Irena Etinger, spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, confirmed the letter. The letter, addressed to Lieberman, did not say when the flights would end.