Arkia and Air Haifa to face class action suit over profiteering during Iran war
Rather than provide return flights to Israeli customers stranded abroad, the two local carriers allegedly chose to refund canceled tickets and sell new tickets at far higher prices
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel
Israeli airlines Air Haifa and Arkia are facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly misleading their customers into accepting a refund for their canceled flight tickets during the 12-day war with Iran, and then selling new tickets at exorbitant prices.
According to the separately filed requests for class action approval, the two airlines allegedly violated consumer protection and aviation laws. Arkia and Air Haifa are accused of offering customers, whose flights had been canceled due to the Iran conflict, a refund only, while concealing or omitting the legal entitlement to provide them with the option of an alternative flight.
As stipulated in the provisions of the Aviation Services Law, a customer whose flight has been canceled is entitled to choose between two main options: a monetary refund of the purchased ticket or an alternative flight.
Israel’s airspace remained largely closed during the 12 days of conflict with Iran that began on June 13, leading to waves of flight cancellations that left many stranded abroad. As part of a government-led operation, on June 18, Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, Air Haifa, and Israir started to operate restricted repatriation flights to bring back an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Israelis stuck abroad.
In the two class actions, the plaintiffs allege that Arkia and Air Haifa informed their passengers of flight cancellations, sent them a notice by SMS-text messaging that they would receive a full monetary refund, and opened bookings for repatriation flights to all stranded Israeli travelers at far higher prices than the original canceled flight tickets.
Meanwhile, Israel’s flag carrier El Al offered to customers whose tickets were canceled during the Iran conflict and were stranded abroad the option to be assigned seats on repatriation flights at no additional cost.
“Unfortunately, while some airlines chose to stand by their customers in their difficult time, Arkia and Air Haifa decided to choose for their customers to receive a refund and enrich themselves at their expense,” Attorney Ehud Gery, who represents the plaintiffs in both class action lawsuits, told The Times of Israel.
For now, in both class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs are seeking compensation of more than NIS 2.5 million ($742,000) from each airline.
In response, Air Haifa rejected the class action lawsuit as “predictable and unjustified,” saying it “does not reflect the reality and the company’s efforts throughout the complex period.”
“Since the outbreak of the [Iran] war, Air Haifa has acted responsibly and transparently, with great dedication to help every passenger get home,” Air Haifa said. “We initiated the placement of passengers on repatriation flights, even without receiving a request from the customer, and all this out of a sense of mission.”
“We will examine the request in its entirety and respond accordingly,” Air Haifa added.
In response to the class action suit, Arkia stated that “since the beginning of the war, Arkia has been operating around the clock to bring Israelis home.”
“The lawsuit has not yet been received, and once it is – we will respond accordingly,” the carrier said.
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