El Al is facing a NIS 121 million fine after Israel’s competition watchdog alleged that the country’s flag carrier exploited its monopolistic power and charged “excessive and unfair” fares during the war with Hamas in Gaza.
The Israel Competition Authority said on Sunday that it notified El Al that it intends to impose the maximum sanction stipulated by law in the amount of up to NIS 121 million ($39 million). The decision on the determination and imposition of the financial sanction is not final and is subject to a hearing where El Al will present its position.
With the outbreak of war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, El Al became a monopoly on most of its routes after many foreign carriers canceled flight services to and from Israel due to heightened regional tensions.
During the two-year war, El Al raked in record profits as major foreign airlines repeatedly halted flight services to and from Israel, leaving travelers from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport almost entirely dependent on Israeli carriers. A scarce supply of flights allowed El Al to charge exorbitant airfares.
“The security situation led to an extreme situation for the traveling public,” Israel Competition Authority head Michal Cohen said.
“The entire period was characterized by instability and a need for certainty in the ability to fly from place to place, and many consumers had no choice but to pay the prices charged by El Al for fear of flight cancellations [by foreign airlines], while others had no choice but to give up flying.”
Illustrative: Stranded Israelis wait in a standby queue at Heathrow Airport in London to try and get seats on an El Al flight departing for Tel Aviv, on June 25, 2025. (Courtesy)
The investigation by the competition regulator determined that El Al had a monopoly on most flights to and from Israel from the outbreak of war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, until the end of May 2024. During this period El Al had a monopoly on at least 38 of the 53 routes it operated, including to major destinations such as London, New York, Paris, Bangkok, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Based on an analysis of millions of airline tickets sold by El Al during the war period, compared to prices to the year before the fighting, the investigation showed that ticket prices rose by an average of about 16 percent, with some routes recording sharper increases of up to 31%. In addition, it was found that even on flights that were not fully booked in economy class, El Al hiked ticket prices by about 25%.
In response, El Al rejected the claim that it charged excessive prices during the war.
“Even if the Israel Competition Authority’s position is accepted, according to which ticket prices rose by 16% on average for economy and premium classes (which is an incorrect figure in our opinion) during the war, there is no precedent for determining that such a price increase reflects excessive pricing,” El Al said. “El Al will present its full position at a hearing and in any appropriate legal forum and is convinced that its position will be accepted.”
The findings of the competition watchdog’s investigation showed that within a few days of the start of the Hamas war, El Al’s share of passengers to and from Israel rose from about 20% to more than 70%. During the first months of the war, El Al accounted for over 50% of all passengers flying to and from Israel.
Illustrative: Passengers at Ben Gurion International airport amid multiple delayed and canceled flights on August 25, 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Pearl Cohen law firm attorney Tal Rotman, who represents plaintiff Ilan Verednikov in a class action suit against El Al for alleged price gouging, said that “an official decision by the Competition Commissioner that El Al abused its monopolistic position would be prima facie evidence in the lawsuit we filed.”
“It would pave the way for the lawsuit to be approved as a class action, and for the award of significant compensation to El Al’s customers as well,” Rotman said.
