Knesset panel delays vote on compensation policy changes to bring back foreign airlines
Committee head demands steadfast commitment that carriers will resume their services; lambastes war profiteering by Israeli airlines
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
A heated debate about legal changes to compensation rights in the event of flight cancellations during wartime, intended to bring back foreign airlines to Israel, ended without a vote on Monday.
MK David Bitan, who chairs the Knesset Economic Committee, said in the meeting that without an unequivocal commitment from foreign airlines to resume their flight operations, he will not bring to a vote a proposal to make temporary amendments to the 2012 Aviation Services Law that would partly limit consumer rights for full compensation or reimbursement of canceled flights.
“I’m not willing to offer relief for [foreign] carriers or hurt consumers when I don’t see that the other side of the coin is on board,” said Bitan. “Israeli consumers are already grappling with [ticket] price hikes and are scrambling to find their way back home because of flight cancellations.
“On the one hand, the government is not doing what should be done to help lower prices and bring back foreign airlines, and on the other hand, all [the carriers] want are concessions, so we will not vote,” he said.
Since war broke out with the Hamas terror group following the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israeli communities, foreign airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flights to and from Israel due to the security situation. In recent months, US airlines completely stopped flying to Israel, while other carriers postponed their return for weeks, months, or in some cases, indefinitely, amid heightened fighting and as tensions rose in the Middle East.
Last month, a group of 15 major foreign carriers started lobbying the government to make temporary amendments to the Aviation Services Law to help reduce costs and financial risks in order to make a return of services to Israel feasible. Foreign carriers have been arguing that the law applies to disruptions during normal times and is not adequate for extended periods of emergency, such as the current prolonged war period.
Many foreign airlines have been grappling with a multitude of class actions and small claims from passengers who are suing for compensation as stipulated in the current law.
The group represented by Adv. Shirly Kazir at Fischer (FBC) law firm includes airlines such as British Airways, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and Peace Air.
Asked by Bitan whether foreign carriers would resume their flight services to Israel if the legal changes were to be approved, Kazir responded that the carriers want to come back.
“We didn’t threaten or ask for goodies but said what would help,” said Kazir. “The demanded changes to the law need to be approved urgently so there is a chance that the carriers can prepare themselves to return on April 1.”
With the absence of foreign carriers, the supply of flights low, and demand high, ticket prices have soared. Israeli airlines, led by flagship carrier El Al, are the biggest beneficiaries, as travelers from Ben Gurion Airport are almost entirely dependent on them.
During the meeting, Bitan bashed Israeli airlines for making a case to get the same concessions and relief demanded by foreign airlines during the war period.
“As if Israeli airlines haven’t earned enough, now El Al is also asking for relief like the foreign companies,” Bitan said. Israir CEO Uri Sirkis also demanded that local carriers should be entitled to the same concessions foreign carriers would be receiving.
“You can’t have it all — profiteering from the war and now also asking for equal treatment,” said Bitan. “This is unacceptable.”
Both Israir and Arkia have been waiting for a decision on whether the government will make changes to the compensation law, as they are gearing up to launch flights to North America and seek to reduce the risk and cost of operating the new routes.
