Posted on 11/06/24
| News Source: Times of Israel
Foreign airlines have warned they are likely to continue to suspend flights to Israel unless the current compensation regulation for canceled flights is amended and adapted to ease the costs and financial risk of disruptions and cancellations, after 13 months of war.
In a joint request, a group of 15 major foreign carriers is seeking to make temporary amendments to the 2012 Aviation Services Law in a position paper submitted to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee this week. The group is understood to include airlines such as British Airways, Delta Air Lines, and low-cost carriers Wizz Air and easyjet.
“The current regulations in the Aviation Services Law are formulated for disruptions during normal times and are not adequate for extended periods of emergency such as the current period, which began with the murderous terrorist attack on October 7 and has continued ever since until these very days,” Adv. Shirly Kazir at Fischer (FBC) law firm, which represents the group of foreign carriers said in the position paper. “In the absence of a clear change in the relevant regulation in the legislation, foreign airlines lack any incentive to return and operate flights to Israel, as they are faced with many more financial losses.”
Since war broke out with the Hamas terror group following the October 7 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 amid heightened fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and as tensions rise in the Middle East.
American Airlines extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv from March 2025 until September, while Delta Airlines and UK flag carrier British Airways canceled their routes to Israel until April next year joining an array of foreign airlines that have recently expanded their flight suspensions for longer periods.