Ben Gurion Airport Departures Area (Wikipedia)
A coalition of twenty international airlines has issued an ultimatum to the Israeli government, demanding immediate action to regulate flight cancellation and overnight stay compensation, and to shield them from excessive legal liability. Failure to comply, they warn, could result in ceasing their operations in Israel. Israel’s Calcalist reported that the foreign carriers sent a letter to the Knesset Economics Committee on the matter.
Just about every international air carrier, from Air France to Lufthansa, canceled all of its flights to and from Israel after the barbaric Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023. This was because at the time Hamas was launching rockets from Gaza at Israeli cities that could even reach central area and that posed a real threat to any airplanes landing or taking off from Israel Ben-Gurion International Airport located outside of Tel Aviv.
Then, after Israel began its Iron Swords War against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, the Hezbollah terrorist group began to also launch rockets at Israel from its baes in Lebanon.
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Some airlines restored their service to Israel later on. However, Iran launched missiles and UAVs/drone in a massive attack on Israel in April and list led to further cancelations of service.
Today, most foreign airlines have yet to restore service and there is no timeline for their return as long as the fighting continues.
One American carrier that offered direct flights between Israel and the New York Area, United, has said that it does not expect to restore its services until well into 2025.
The reasons for this are simple: The airlines fear for the safety of their planes, crews and passengers. They also must offer all manner of compensation to people who bought tickets for a flight that is cancelled on short notice, no matter the reason. They are also concerned with the possibility of civil suits from customers should anything happen.
Israel’s 2012 Aviation Services Law aims to protect passenger rights and outline airline obligations during flight disruptions, including those caused by prolonged emergencies like the one that began on October 7, 2023.
However, the foreign airlines say that Israel must provide them with guarantees of greater compensations.
