Knesset Economic Affairs Committee Chairman MK David Bitan leveled heavy criticism at Israeli airlines Israir and Arkia on Monday during a committee hearing addressing price hikes for people seeking to return to Israel after getting stranded following Israel’s attack on Iran.
Bitan also chastised the airlines for failing to send representatives to the committee hearing, and called on Transportation Minister Miri Regev not to include the two Israeli carriers in any easing of the obligation of airlines to compensate passengers for canceled tickets, should she implement such a policy under the terms of an existing law.
“They will not receive a benefit when… they are extorting the public,” insisted Bitan. The committee chairman praised El Al, however, for not charging extra for those who had flights with the airline that were canceled, and for setting low prices for those who did not have El Al flights, but needed to return home.
According to the law for aviation services, it is airline companies that must bear the economic costs of providing new tickets to those who have flights canceled, although the transportation minister can reduce those liabilities if the cancellations are due to war.
Bitan threatened that his committee would not approve such reductions for Israir and Arkia.
“I will not approve benefits for these companies that did not even bother to come to the hearing and raised prices,” said the MK.
“The only one that looked out for the public interest is El Al, and we need to create a situation where the airlines do not exploit the public.”
During the hearing, Uzi Itzhaki, the coordinator of the Transportation Ministry’s effort to enable Israelis stranded abroad to return home, said that there were no restrictions on leaving Israel, despite the ministry initially indicating that such restrictions would be enacted.
Last week, large numbers of Israelis and foreign citizens found themselves stuck in Israel following the initiation of Operation Rising Lion against Iran, and were unable to buy flights out of the country, with airlines telling Israeli citizens they were not allowed to sell flights to them.
The ministry announced on Thursday night that all passengers would need to get permission to buy air tickets from an exceptions committee.
But Itzhaki said this was not the case, and denied that there ever had been any restrictions.
“No one forbade [leaving the country]. The moment we received the security green light, we opened the ability for departing flights,” he claimed. “There are no criteria for those leaving, everything is open. Airlines have been selling tickets since Saturday night,” he said, adding “there is no exceptions committee.”
However, outbound flights are restricted to 50 passengers per plane due to security concerns, with Airports Authority director Sharon Kidmi stating that airplanes departing from the gate were much more vulnerable than arriving, planes due to the large amount of fuel in their tanks, and that even a single piece of shrapnel could destroy an entire plane.
Kidmi also stated that it was possible to have passengers leave the airport just 30 minutes after arrival, whereas departing passengers need between one and a half to two hours in the terminal, meaning that large numbers of passengers could potentially be exposed to missile fire if the number of seats on departing flights was not restricted.
Itzhaki said that 50,964 people have left Israel since the onset of the conflict as of Sunday.
In terms of those who have traveled back to Israel, he said that 74,652 people entered the country since the beginning of hostilities with Iran as of Sunday, and that expected that figure to rise to almost 100,000 by the end of Monday.
“The operation is succeeding unusually well,” said Itzhaki, adding that the return of all those stranded outside of Israel could be completed within a week.