Pilots of Israel's national carrier El Al on Sunday threaten to slowdown in the summer over disputes on a reform plan.

The warning comes after month-long talks between the pilots union and El Al's management broke down over claims of overloaded flight schedules and poor working conditions.

If implemented, the move could slow departures on hundreds of flights from Israel's gateway Ben-Gurion International Airport, and smaller, but lucrative, heavily-used fields like the airport at the southern Red Sea tourist city of Eilat.

"It seems to us that ego and personal honor are driving the management's position," said committee chief, Nir Tzuk, who wants the company to come up with "a wise streamlining program," according to Army radio.

"The firm has systematically ignored suggestions for improvement and concerns over the workload brought up by the pilots and employees," Tzuk said, adding that the breakdown imperiled long-discussed "issues that would have saved the company millions of dollars," which he said "were dismissed by the CEO ( Elyezer Shkedy)."

"Regrettably, talks with management have failed. The CEO has announced that he is not interested in moving forward on issues that are important to the employees, and on which agreements have already been reached," Tzuk said, according to the Globes business website.

However, "we have not received any requests from the pilot's union," the management said in a statement.

Tzuk warned that, "...there is concern that flights could be disrupted. We want to express our honest apologies to the passengers if there are any delays," adding that, "it is important for us to make clear that the future of the national carrier and the safety of its passengers are on the agenda, and we cannot compromise on them."

On Thursday, an engine on an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport soon after takeoff when an engine caught fire.