The Israeli airline El Al is reaching for its competitor Arkia. According to local media, there are already initial talks that could end in a full takeover. In terms of competition law, however, there are already initial concerns.

If El Al were to swallow the competitor Arkia, only Israir would remain as a competitor in the line area. All three providers are under massive financial pressure due to the corona pandemic. The newspaper “The Jerusalem Post” also writes that there is currently no guarantee that a merger will actually take place. Both companies could not come to an agreement and the competition authority could speak out against it.

So it is hardly surprising that neither El Al nor Arkia wanted to comment on the local media coverage. So it remains to be seen whether there will be consolidation in Israel or not.