Israeli Court Rules in Favor of Lufthansa

Israel's highest court has ruled in favor of Lufthansa in a dispute with the Israeli Aviation Authority. The German airline appealed to the court after the authority ordered them to cut the capacity of its regular flight to Tel Aviv by more than one-third. The move by the Israeli Aviation Authority was criticized in Israel and elsewhere for violating fair competition rules by attempting to divert more customers to El Al, the Israeli national airline, before a planned privatization. "We can now fly without limitations, and we will do that," said a spokesman for Lufthansa in Tel Aviv. The number of passengers travelling to and from Tel Aviv with Lufthansa has grown more than 7 percent in the last year.