El Al rejects price-gouging claims as Israeli skies reopen

Speaking at the Globes Israel Business Conference, Nadav Hanin, Vice President of Commercial and Industry Affairs at El Al, said the Israeli aviation sector is “slowly returning to normal” after months of severe disruption linked to the ongoing regional crisis.

Hanin noted that during the height of the war, only 24 foreign carriers continued operating flights to Israel. Among them, flyDubai stood out as the only airline that maintained uninterrupted service. Today, he said, around 60 airlines are operating through Ben Gurion Airport, signaling a gradual recovery.

“This number will only grow, and we are on the verge of stabilizing,” Hanin stated.

Major Airlines Still Absent

Despite the improvement, several key players remain absent from the Israeli market. Turkish Airlines and Ryanair have completely removed Israel from their route networks, while easyJet has postponed its return until March 2026.

Hanin also commented on Wizz Air’s intentions to establish a hub in Israel, emphasising that such ambitions should be accompanied by regulatory parity.
“A foreign company that wants to establish a hub must face the same regulatory obligations,” he said.

He noted that Israeli carriers face strict security-clearance requirements when opening new routes, a process that foreign airlines can sometimes bypass.
“Wizz Air can fly wherever it wants and whenever it wants. Israeli companies cannot,” he added.

El Al Defends Ticket Pricing

In response to criticism that El Al exploited the crisis to significantly raise fares, Hanin firmly rejected the accusations.

“Our financial reports are public. According to the data, the average price per ticket increased by no more than 16%. That is the factual figure,” he said.

Hanin stressed that the airline did not seek to monopolise the market:
“We didn’t want to be alone here. It is difficult for us when there are no other airlines, and we must provide the entire State of Israel with international solutions. It’s not as if planes were sitting idle and we refused to operate.”

He underlined that price fluctuations were the result of supply and demand distortions, claiming that El Al fares were sometimes even lower than competing options.

However, despite El Al’s explanations, ticket prices remain significantly higher than pre-war levels on many routes. This reality has pushed a growing number of travellers to choose connecting flights via Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris, London or Frankfurt for long-haul journeys, often reducing costs even when travel times are longer.

The combination of limited airline supply, persistent security concerns and fluctuating operational constraints continues to shape Israel’s recovering aviation landscape — and keeps the debate over fare fairness very much alive.