El Al charged excessive war-time fares, regulator says

The Competition Authority announced today, 02/08/2026, to El Al that the Commissioner intends to determine that El Al held a monopoly on inbound and outbound flights to Israel from October 7, 2023, until the end of May 2024, and that it set an excessive and unfair price level on its flights during this period.

The murderous terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, also affected the aviation industry in Israel. Foreign airlines canceled their flights to Israel one after another, so the supply of flights to and from Israel was immediately reduced. The Israeli companies El Al, Arkia, and Israir were among the few companies that continued to fly throughout the fighting period to and from Israel.

Many citizens who were abroad when the fighting broke out sought to return to Israel as soon as possible by any means, both to comply with reserve duty orders (Tzav 8) and to return home. At the same time, many passengers wished to leave Israel as soon as possible due to fears of an escalation in the security situation.

On October 10, 2023, the Competition Authority approached El Al and warned it to act with caution and avoid exploiting consumers’ situations, in light of the security circumstances. In January 2024, the Competition Authority opened an investigation and collected comprehensive and detailed information from El Al, including data on millions of flight tickets sold during the war period and a comparable prior period.

As part of the investigation, the Competition Authority also conducted an extensive econometric study. At the end of the economic investigation, the Commissioner decided to summon El Al for a hearing in light of her intention to determine that El Al held a monopoly during that period and that this was an excessive price level resulting from the abusive exploitation of monopolistic power stemming from the circumstances that prevailed after October 7, and not from another legitimate reason.

Competition Authority Investigation – Violation on the grounds of setting an excessive and unfair price level

A determination under the law that a monopolist charged an excessive and unfair price level is based on three components: a monopolist, an excessive price level, and the high price level being unfair.

The Competition Authority’s investigation shows that El Al held a monopoly on outbound and inbound flights to and from Israel during the period between October 7, 2023, and the end of May 2024, as well as to specific destinations.

The security events led to dramatic changes from a supply and demand perspective: the supply of flights was immediately reduced, and consumers seeking to enter and exit the country saw El Al as almost the sole provider. It should be noted that among the companies that continued to operate flights during the war period, El Al flew to the largest number of destinations and operated the largest number of flights.

The Authority’s investigation found a decrease in the total number of passengers entering and leaving Israel following the war, and a significant increase in the total number of passengers who flew to and from Israel via El Al. The investigations show that the proportion of passengers who flew to and from Israel via El Al on the eve of October 7 was about 20%, and within a few days it rose to over 70% of all passengers. In addition, it appears that during the first months of the war, El Al flew more than 50% of all passengers who flew to and from Israel. An examination of El Al’s market share data by destination also shows that El Al held a monopoly between October 7, 2023, and the end of May 2024 on at least 38 out of the 53 routes it operated during this period.^[1] (Previously, El Al was declared by the Commissioner as a monopolist in passenger transport to Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Mumbai, as well as in providing aviation security services abroad).

The consumers’ exceptional dependence on El Al, and the fact that it operated without competitive restraints during the period examined by the Authority, indicate that El Al held market power during that time.

Investigation Process

To examine the price increase, the Competition Authority conducted a comparative test in which it compared El Al’s flight ticket prices during the period between October 7, 2023, and the end of May 2024, to the same period in the year preceding the war.

The economic investigation is complex and includes millions of observations of all flight tickets sold by El Al during the war period and the comparable period a year earlier. The detailed information at the flight ticket level allows for the characterization of factors influencing ticket prices.

An accurate examination of the changes in El Al’s flight ticket prices during the war period is based on econometric models. These models are designed to answer the question of whether, and by how much, El Al actually increased prices during the war period, while controlling for the factors influencing ticket prices.

The investigation results indicate a price increase for all major destinations to which El Al flies. The investigation shows that for the main destinations El Al flew to during the war, the average price increase ranged between 6% and 31%, and on average, the ticket price increased by approximately 16%.