After nine months and five sessions on this topic, the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee voted last week in favor of amending the Aviation Services Law, which protects the rights of travelers in the event of a flight delay or cancellation. The amendment reduces the conditions for compensation that airlines must provide to passengers whose flights have been cancelled. Foreign airlines are demanding the change due to the frequent need to cancel flights during the war and the high cost of providing alternative flights to passengers on different airlines.
Although foreign airlines have indicated positively that their demands have been met, there has been little response from them so far. Aviation industry sources say there is almost no contact with foreign airlines with a view to resuming services to Israel. At the same time, the pace of events in Israel, especially missile attacks from Yemen, creates a new old challenge for airlines. A Greek airline Aegean plane was forced to stop in Larnaca on its way to Israel due to sirens warning of an incoming missile.
However, foreign airlines are in no rush to return, although many of them stated that amending the law was their condition for doing so. For example, Air France, which was one of the airlines that publicly supported the amendment, announced that its flights to Israel would be suspended for another week. circumstance. Shirley Kazer, who heads the aviation, maritime, hotel and tourism practice at law firm FBC, which represents several airlines, including British Airways, said 50,000 seats could be added as soon as this month if the amendment eventually becomes law. The airline test should come very soon, after the amendment is given on second and third readings in the Knesset, which is generally a technical procedure.
Ryanair, which publicly supported the amendment, after revealing it had to pay passengers compensation amounting to about 4 million euros, said the amendment would not be enough to guarantee its return to Israel without reopening Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion Airport. To international flights.
Before the war, there were about 90 foreign airlines operating at Ben Gurion Airport, but currently there are only 26. After the ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect, Air Seychelles announced that it would return, and by the end of this week it would become an airline. Number 27. Its return is welcome, but it only operates a small number of flights to a small number of destinations, so the impact on the sector is minimal.
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If the airlines do not return, travelers will be vulnerable to finding themselves in a situation where flights are canceled or significantly delayed, will not be entitled to any financial compensation beyond the cost of their tickets, and will have to bear what could be higher costs resulting from the cancellation of their flights. Without any increase in competition may lead to lower prices.
No date has been set for a vote on the amendment to the Aviation Services Law in the plenum of the Knesset, but in any case, whether the amendment will lead to the return of all foreign airlines or not will depend on the security situation.
In any case, US airlines, or at least some of them, are not expected to return to Israel any time soon. In the case of long-haul flights such as those between Israel and North America, changes in schedules and shifting aircraft from one route to another are complex and time-consuming. Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee, Member of Knesset David Bitan, said that the draft law will not be presented for final approval in the full Knesset until it is confirmed that the government is committed to its commitment to compensate airlines that have increased the number of flights to North America. If they add two flights a week. This mainly means Arkia and Israir, as this move carries significant risks.
The draft law stipulates that the state will cover 50% of the operational losses of airline companies in the event of flight cancellations for security reasons.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 6, 2025.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
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