Will the setting up of an Israel hub at Ben Gurion airport by Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air lead to genuine competition and lower fares, or will the move simply harm Israeli airlines and deepen regulatory distortions? This issue was at the center of a charged discussion at the Globes Infrastructures of the Future Conference organized in cooperation with Bank Hapoalim.
Ministry of Transport Senior Deputy Director General for Economics, Budget and Strategy Or Libis and Israir CEO Uri Sirkis clashed over the future of open skies in Israel. Livis expressed strong support for the Wizz Air Israel hub and compared the opposition to it to warnings heard on the eve of the mobile phone reform. “We were told that the companies would collapse and that the market would end, and in the end no family thinks twice before making a phone call,” he said. According to him, the aviation industry also needs a move that will put the consumer at the center, not the companies’ profits.
Libis mentioned that the Israeli public has come to the aid of local airlines time and again. During the Covid pandemic, he said, about NIS 1.4 billion in state funds were poured into El Al, and tens of millions of dollars in aid to other Israeli airlines. Even during the war, the Israeli airlines received compensation from the state for insurance expenses. “But the public also remembers the prices – $800 and $900 for short flights from Larnaca or Athens. You can’t be a ‘national company’ in an emergency, and routinely collect billions from the public,” he said.
“The basis is commitment, not another flight”
Libis added that one of the main problems in the industry is operational regulation that makes it difficult to have real competition. The ban on parking planes at night at Ben Gurion Airport, he said, creates inefficiency that prevents low-cost companies from offering low prices. “When Wizz Air starts its day in Budapest and not in Tel Aviv, it arrives later and that is reflected in the price,” he said.
Libis says that establishing a permanent base in Israel changes the rules of the game. “A base is not about adding another flight. It’s about planes that are stationed here, teams that live here, and a deep commitment to the Israeli market. It’s a completely different world than what the public knows.” The security argument, he said, also does not justify blocking competition. “Most of the security expenses of Israeli companies are paid for by the taxpayer anyway. In practice, the public pays twice, both through taxes and through the fare, and ultimately does not benefit from full competition. The sky belongs to the public, and the consumer should enjoy open, fair skies and low prices.”
Israir: “In favor of competition but on equal terms”
On the other hand, Israir CEO Uri Sirkis made it clear that his airline is not opposed in principle to Wizz Air setting up a hub in Israel but is against the move as long as the terms of the competition are not equal. “We are in favor of competition and have been creating competition for years, but competition must be fair,” he said. Sirkis rejected claims of aid worth billions and said that Israir received only about $16 million during the war, as compensation for security expenses, while imposing restrictions on salaries and management fees. “The statements about billions are populist and incorrect,” he insisted.
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He stressed that Israeli airlines are dealing with significant operational “burdens”: unequal allocation of slots in Terminal 1, restrictions on hiring foreign pilots and dependence on the Israeli aviation security system, which dictates takeoff and landing times. “If El Al takes off early in the morning, no one can take off before it. We can only leave hours later. If we want to establish a base, we need to simultaneously reform aviation security and have the same conditions for everyone.”
Sirkis added that Israir’s profitability figures are not the result of price gouging, but rather of fleet expansion. “Wizz Air is not philanthropic – and it operates according to business interests. So are we. Therefore, we are not against competition, but in favor of fair competition.”
The conference is in collaboration with Bank Hapoalim and is sponsored by Pelephone, Yes, Doral, Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Company, CAF, Bazan Group, Ratio Energies, NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit, Generation Capital, and Moriah Jerusalem Development Corporation, with the participation of Israel Electric Corporation.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 29, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
