Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz announced that Arkia is preparing to reduce the frequency of its flights to and from Eilat. In a letter to Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri, he wrote that Arkia will have to re-examine its conduct on several levels and cut losses as much as possible. Following the government’s dramatic decision today regarding the state’s share of security expenses, the company will be forced to reduce domestic flight frequencies. He also noted that Arkia currently operates about 70% of flights to and from Eilat.
Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz’s letter to Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri regarding the reduction in Arkia’s flight frequency to Eilat, following the Israeli government’s decision to very significantly reduce the state’s share of Israeli airlines’ security expenses. The text of the letter is attached:
To Mr. Eli Lankri, Mayor of Eilat
Re: Reduction in Arkia’s flight frequency to Eilat
Yesterday (March 2, 2025), the Israeli government made a dramatic decision to very significantly reduce the state’s share of Israeli airlines’ security expenses, and accordingly – to impose these costs on the companies. To put this in perspective, the decision indicates an intention to triple (!) the share currently imposed on the companies. This decision is expected to severely harm Arkia’s ability to compete with foreign airlines – which don’t bear similar security expenses – and therefore carries far-reaching economic harm to the company. This harm adds to further damage to competition with foreign airlines, caused by the fact that Arkia is currently forced to operate from two different terminals at Ben Gurion simultaneously, and to operate ground and air crews from both with all the associated economic implications, unlike foreign low-cost airlines that operate only from Terminal 1. Sadly, precisely at a time when Arkia “stepped up to carry the stretcher” and proved in the recent war the strategic importance of strong Israeli aviation to the State of Israel, the state is choosing to severely harm it and “lay it on the stretcher”, by giving a clear and substantial competitive advantage to foreign airlines, many of which chose to “abandon” Israel as soon as the war broke out. Over the past month, we worked on several fronts to try to prevent this decree. We held intensive talks with the Finance and Transport ministries and made clear the implications of the current situation for Arkia. We also made practical proposals that could allow Arkia to continue to exist. In this context, we explained that one of the immediate steps the Transport Ministry could take to reduce the harm to Arkia is to concentrate the company’s activity at Ben Gurion in Terminal 1. Unfortunately, all our proposals fell on deaf ears. It therefore seems that the decision on this matter is inevitable, as is its severe and extreme harm to Arkia. Accordingly, Arkia, as a business, is obliged to re-examine its conduct on several levels and minimize losses as much as possible. As you surely know, domestic flights to Eilat are significantly less economical than international flights. Nevertheless, alongside being a business operating for profit, Arkia is an Israeli company that cares about the country’s citizens; therefore, Arkia currently operates about 70% of flights to and from Eilat. However, the economic harm to Arkia resulting from the decision is dramatic, and it forces the company to act, even where its heart isn’t in it. In this matter, after serious consideration of the economic implications of the expected steps, we have concluded that in the circumstances that have arisen, and in light of the government decision made yesterday, we have no choice but to reduce the scope of flights to and from Eilat. Accordingly, with a heavy heart, and as a first necessary step, Arkia is forced to announce a reduction in its flights to Eilat, so that from April 1, 2025, the company will operate only 3–4 daily flights to Eilat. I wish to express sincere regret over this decision to you and to the residents of Eilat. I hope that the Israeli government will understand the serious implications of its decisions and prevent, at the last moment, irreversible damage to Israeli airlines.
Sincerely, Oz Berlowitz, CEO of Arkia
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