Foreign airlines demand passenger compensation changes to lure them back to Israel
In letter to transportation minister, 20 carriers say aviation law providing indemnity for passengers was not designed for extended period of emergency, like the ongoing war
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel
A group of foreign airlines is urging Israel’s Transportation Ministry to declare a special security situation and temporarily limit passenger compensation rights to make the resumption of flight services to the country more feasible.
The appeal comes as the majority of foreign airlines have canceled flights to and from the country since last Sunday, when a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis struck inside the grounds of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
In a letter Monday, foreign carriers called on Transportation Minister Miri Regev to issue a temporary order that would restrict consumer compensation entitlements in the event of flight cancellations due to the security situation.
“In light of the current state of emergency and the disastrous consequences of security incidents on the aviation and tourism industry… it appears that the conditions are ripe to issue an order to instate mechanisms applicable for emergency situations, which will allow flexibility in [passenger compensation] regulation, and incentivize foreign airlines to… resume their operations to Israel,” said Adv. Shirly Kazir, head of aviation & tourism practices at the FISCHER & Co. (FBC) law firm, in the letter seen by The Times of Israel.
Kazir, who represents 20 foreign airlines operating in Europe and the US, is demanding that Regev exercise her authority to make certain temporary amendments to the 2012 Aviation Services Law, to ease the costs and financial risk of disruptions and cancellations of foreign airlines if they have to halt operations because of the security situation.
The Transportation Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by The Times of Israel.
After the missile from Yemen impacted premises within Ben Gurion, Israel’s main airport, the Lufthansa Group — which includes German carrier Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings — said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv through May 18. Air France has halted its Tel Aviv service until May 20.
Air India, which operates a direct route between Israel and India, has suspended flights through May 25. US carriers Delta and United have halted flights through May 20 and June 12, respectively. Iberia will not resume flights until June 1, and British Airways not until June 15. Among low-cost airlines, Ryanair cancelled flights until May 21.
Meanwhile, Wizz Air announced on Tuesday that it expects to resume its flight operations to Israel on May 15.
Under aviation law, in the event of a flight cancellation made less than 14 days before departure, foreign airlines are obliged to offer an alternative flight to the passenger. But due to the current scarcity of seats, providing an alternate flight costs much more, to an unreasonable degree, than the price the passenger paid to the airline, the letter argued.
This “encourages airlines that are forced to cancel their flights due to a security incident to suspend their activity for extended periods, instead of stopping them only sporadically,” wrote Kazir.
In the letter, the foreign airlines demanded that the advance notification period to passengers in the event of a flight change or cancellation be shortened from 14 days to three.
Other changes the airlines seek include reducing their obligation to provide hotel accommodation for up to two nights for passengers in the event of flight cancellations, and an exemption from paying financial compensation beyond the refund of ticket fares for flights scheduled starting May 5 until the end of the emergency situation.
Foreign carriers have been arguing that the Aviation Services Law applies to disruptions during normal times and is not adequate for extended periods of emergency, referring to Israel’s prolonged war with Hamas, which broke out with the terror group’s onslaught of October 7, 2023.
Over the past 19 months, most foreign airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flights to and from Israel. Many foreign airlines have lamented that they are grappling with a multitude of class actions and small claims from passengers, who are suing for compensation as stipulated in aviation law.
Beyond the temporary amendments in the legislation, the group of foreign airlines is calling on the government to provide them with assistance related to insuring their operations in Israel, similar to the assistance given to Israeli airlines.
The Times of Israel Community.