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EL AL to be fined for price-gouging during war, per report

The flag carrier raked in record-breaking profits over the past two years when it flew as a virtual monopoly.

EL AL Airlines
El Al Airlines planes parked at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Lod, Israel, Aug. 3, 2020. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.

Israel’s flag carrier, EL AL, is expected to be fined tens of millions of shekels for price-gouging during Israel’s two-year war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday night.

EL AL raked in record-breaking profits over the past two years when it flew as a virtual monopoly as foreign carriers halted flights to and from Israel, and as its airfares hit record highs amid huge demand and low supply.

The months-long investigation by the state’s Competition Authority is also considering imposing a financial sanction on the airline’s former CEO, Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, the report said.

The national carrier is also facing a separate lawsuit in the hundreds of millions of dollars alleging price-gouging.

The airline has denied the allegations.

Etgar Lefkovits, an award-winning international journalist, is an Israel correspondent and a feature news writer for JNS. A native of Chicago, he has two decades of experience in journalism, having served as Jerusalem correspondent in one of the world’s most demanding positions. He is currently based in Tel Aviv.
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