How to sue an airline in Israel has a simple answer, but first, it is very important to know that any claim against an Israeli or foreign airline can be settled in Israel and can be discussed according to Israeli law, not European law, provided that the flight took off from Israel or should have landed in Israel. In such a situation, there is no need to go to courts abroad and you can deliver your claim to the representative of the company in Israel , even if it is a foreign company (how to locate the representative of the foreign company in Israel is detailed later in this article).
Second, before you sue an airline in Israel, one must first understand whether there has been a violation of any law or a violation of an agreement between the airline and the customer. for example; A flight delay exceeding eight hours or a flight cancellation constitutes a violation of the "Aviation Services Law (Compensation and Assistance Due to Flight Cancellation or Change in its Conditions), 2012" (also known as " Tibi Law "), and entitles the customer to financial compensation.
As of the writing of these lines (the amount is updated a little every year), each passenger will be able to receive, under the circumstances described , financial compensation that can reach up to 3,340 NIS for the cancellation of the flight (the amount of compensation is determined according to the distance of the flight).
In addition, you can also demand up 11,120 NIS if the airline won't provide you all the benefits stipulated .in the Aviation Services Law
Attorney Eddie Blitshtein has been representing plaintiffs and defendants against foreign and Israeli airlines for over a decade, when the amount of damage exceeds NIS 100,000 (mostly these are large groups that wish to file a personal or class action). Have you suffered such damage? You are welcome to contact our office.
What to do before I sue an airline?
Check on the flight ticket which airline has committed to fly you. Sometimes you will find that you received a flight ticket on behalf of one airline, but in fact you flew on a plane bearing the name and symbols of another airline. In these cases, a lawsuit must be filed against the airline that issued you the ticket.
In the next step, you need to locate the legal name of the airline and the H.P. number. its. for example; The legal name of El Al is El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., and its ID number is 520017146.
the legal name and ID number It can be found on the receipt received from the airline, sometimes in the email you received from the airline or through the airline's website. If you did not find the necessary details to file a claim against the airline, try browsing the website of the Corporations Authority and writing the name of the company as it is known to you You will get a result similar to this:
If you click on the corporation's number (marked in blue) you will get the following screen which will reveal to you the address to which the statement of claim must be sent after filing a claim against the Israeli airline:
How to sue a foreign airline?
If you are considering to sue an airline that is based outside of Israel, it is not fundamentally different from filing a claim against an Israeli company. The main difficulty stems from the fact that most passengers are not at all aware that they do not need to file a claim abroad , and can conduct legal proceedings in Israel, and this in view of the obligation of every airline in Israel to appoint an authorized person on its behalf to receive pleadings for claims filed against it in Israel.
To find the representative of the airline that you want to sue, go to the website of the Civil Aviation Authority . On this website you can find the representatives of the foreign companies (note that the list is updated and changes from time to time).
After clicking on the inscription "Representatives of foreign airlines" you will reach the next screen where you will simply have to write down the name of the relevant airline, or scroll and view the names of all airlines and authorized representatives. Please note that some representatives have both an email address and a fax number and some representatives can only be contacted by email.
Suppose you want to file a lawsuit against the Royal Jordanian airline . In the search field, try to search in Hebrew or English (sometimes you will find the company only by searching in English).
After you know who the representative is and what is the address for filing the statement of claim, you still have to find out what the legal name of the company is in Israel, and what the ID number is. its. To do this, you will have to browse the website of the Corporations Authority again and write the name of the company:
In this situation you have the legal name of the foreign airline, the ID number, and even the address of the representative authorized on her behalf to receive pleadings, and you are ready to sue an airline.
In conclusion
There is no obstacle to filing a lawsuit against a foreign or Israeli airline in Israel, provided it is a flight that took off or landed in Israel. Such a claim will be determined according to Israeli law (Aviation Services Law) and not European law.
The airlines do not comply with the Aviation Services Law (neither the obligation to be informed about the passengers' rights nor the actual payment of compensation).
The Aviation Services Law is a short and simple law and it is very worthwhile to familiarize yourself with its provisions in order to file a claim against an airline.
In the event that your flight is canceled or delayed for more than eight hours, passengers are entitled to many benefits, including a hotel stay, transportation to the hotel, communication services, food and beverages, an alternative flight ticket and financial compensation depending on the flight distance to your destination.
Every foreign airline has a representative office in Israel, to which a warning letter can be delivered before filing a claim or a statement of claim.
