Foreign airlines seek legal changes before returning to Israel

Representatives of foreign airlines in Israel sent a letter to the legal advisor of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee requesting that the Aviation Services Law be amended. The amendment would make things easier for foreign airlines affected by the disruptions resulting from the war. Airlines include low-cost and legacy carriers including, it is believed, major companies such as easyJet, Wizz Air, Delta and British Airways.

Current law requires airlines to provide compensation to passengers for canceling and changing flights and, if necessary, finding and paying for their replacement flights. But the law was issued for peacetime and is not suitable for long periods of emergency. Regulatory requirements mean that foreign airlines are forced to cancel many flights, incur significant losses and deal with passenger claims. According to the letter, the requirements of the law make their activity in Israel financially unprofitable, and they want to suspend the compensation clause in the law.

The issue was discussed by the Economic Affairs Committee at the beginning of October, when the insurance issue was also on the agenda as a main reason for airlines not returning to Israel. Before the Iranian attack in April, foreign companies pledged that if the country helped subsidize insurance, as it does with Israeli airlines, there would be a rapid resumption of Israeli flights. Since then, the security situation has escalated, and therefore, airlines are now emphasizing the importance of the legal amendment.

circumstance. Shirley Kazer, of the Fisher Law Firm (FBC), represents more than 15 foreign airlines in Israel. She said in the letter she sent to Globes, “The issue that hurts airlines today the most is that in order to give passengers an alternative flight, companies have to bear costs that sometimes reach 500 times the original cost.” To give an incentive to airlines “Foreign.” To travel to Israel, they need legal certainty. The thinking is that if there are more airlines flying to Israel, even if this erodes rights under the Aviation Services Law, they will pay because it will be possible to file lawsuits against airlines that are expensive for companies, and defending against lawsuits in “Courts involve significant costs, and this leads companies to make the cold shoulder of abandoning activity in advance.”

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 5, 2024.

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