El Al’s cancellation woes continue to plague the airline. After cancelling 4 flights to Boston within 2 weeks, El Al Flight 2 from JFK to Tel Aviv today and flight 11 from Tel Aviv to JFK are cancelled.
DDF and DDFB members have been asking if they can get compensated by El Al for the cancellations.
US law for that is weak, but luckily, Israel has a strong delayed and cancelled flight compensation law. If your flight to or from Tel Aviv is delayed by 8 hours or if it’s cancelled and you’ll be 8 hours late due to that, you can request compensation. The airline will have to pay 1,280NIS for flights up to 2,000kms, 2,050NIS for flights up to 4,500kms, and 3,080NIS for flights over 4,500kms. All flights to North America fall into the latter category, so you can get about $845 for a long delay or cancellation.
The law applies when there are staffing issues and when there are mechanical delays. The law does not apply when there are special circumstances not under the airline’s control. That excludes weather delays, etc.
You need to contact your airline to file a claim.
You can click here to contact El Al, click on “after the flight”, click on “other”, click “continue”, and then fill in your personal details and write the circumstances of the claim with a reference to the law that requires a 3,080 shekel cash payment for delays over 8 hours on flights that are more than 4,500 kilometers in distance.
Flying on another airline to Israel? You can request for Israel delayed/cancelled flight compensation with Air Canada by contacting them here, with Delta by contacting them here and with United by contacting them here.
Note that some airlines will offer you a higher amount of compensation if you take a voucher. For example DDF member jr611 was offered the choice of a $1,000 United voucher or 30K miles instead of 3,080NIS in cash. That could be worthwhile for some people, but only if you know that you’ll use it before it expires.
Share your experience with compensation under Israel’s delayed flight law in the comments!
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93 Comments On "El Al Or Other Flight To/From Israel Delayed Or Cancelled? Here’s How To Claim Compensation"
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How long after the flight can I still file for compensation?
I believe that you have 4 years.
What does an airport strike fall under, not under airlines control I imagine and ineligible for compensation?
Airport strike would not be eligible.
I flew to Israel on Aeroflot in Dec. 2015, we had to drop off a passenger in Canada for a medical emergency and I wound up missing my connection, they put me up in a hotel overnight in Moscow. I sent them an email asking for compensation, they said they would look into it, that was the extent of their reply. Can I file a claim? How?
How long does it take them to respond because I sent in a claim about 2 months ago and still haven’t got any response
what about aeroflot any luck obtaining compensation from them for 24 hours ?
Did you send an email to them?
Aeroflot can be tough. They’ll always have an excuse why it’s not their fault. I would suggest going via the DOT (if they deny proper comp), and usually (despite the fact that it’s not their department) once the DOT forwards your message to them, the results can be better (with all airlines).
Was your trip starting or ending in Israel?
When was LY8 today cancelled? I am supposed to fly on that tongith but received no notice and checked in online last night.
Not sure, I just noticed it here:
https://flightaware.com/live/findflight?origin=KJFK&destination=LLBG
I’d suggest calling El Al for more info.
strange because the elal site itself is showing this flight as still scheduled
https://www.elal.com/en/PassengersInfo/Useful-Info/Flight-Schedule/Pages/Flight-Updates.aspx
I have been on hold for a while with no luck
Seems like a mistake on FlightAware. LY 8 is not cancelled (at least not yet)
LY8 is not cancelled
What is the authoritative source for getting the correct information. I have been on hold with Elal for over 30 minutes.
Q: What if it’s delayed due to someone not wanting to sit near another passenger?
A: Before this week’s announcement there wouldn’t have been any compensation due because it was beyond the airline’s control. After this week’s grand announcement, though, if it takes them too long to Dr. Dao the perp they gotta just pay up the $845!
You see? This is a classic case of מקדים רפואה למכה! There’s a good side to everything!
Best comment ever!
Since I do this professional Not Just Fare (/www.facebook.com/JustNotFare/), I can tell you that it is few and far between that El-Al will pay voluntarily whether they are right or wrong and more times then not, I find them indifferent. We usually have to sue them before they pay out. So when you try to get compensation and get denied, we will be more than happy to level the playing field. I am proud to say we haven’t lost yet.
Finally. Was waiting for this service. Dan is writing that mechanical problems are eligible however most of the times elal will claim “special circumstances” “it’s not under our control, we did everything we could” we know this is bs. What do they think the law is taking about? The law is taking about a situation where elal just decides that they will not fly “for fun”? Of course there is a reason behind it but not every reason is “special circumstances”. They should know, and they probably know after all the people who sued them that mechanical is not considered special circumstances and yet they still use this excuse.
Any way you can be reached besides Facebook?
What if we already accepted a lower amount of compensation? Like a $300 travel voucher and 15,000 miles….Can we still do this and cancel the other forms of compensation?
Usually if they give anything and you want more they don’t have to give anything. I’ve had where people got a $100 check and was told not to deposit
Has El Al continued to offer free tickets if you (show up early enough and) allow yourself to be bumped?
My family was supposed to be on the 002 when arrived to the airport they said that cancelled and gave them other choices but nothing direct immediately even though original was direct and was older couple and didn’t want to go back and forth so gave them a flight thru Brussels. Could they still get compensation.
Did they ever get an email or other communication? Does Elal really expect to just let people know when they show up at the airport?
It depends how late they landed.
I was flying on ukraine airlines flight ps231 from Tel Aviv to jfk with a stopover in Kiev, Ukraine. Once I landed in Kiev, they told us all that the flight would be delayed 10 hours due to technical problems. Something to do with an earlier flight being delayed. Is there a fast/easy way I can receive compensation for this?
“You can request for Israel delayed/cancelled flight compensation with Air Canada by contacting them here, with Delta by contacting them here and with United by contacting them here.” meaning i dont have to go trough with ELAL? i can go straight to these airlines? P.s. what affiliation do they have with ELAL?
That’s if the delay was by one of those airlines. The law is an Israeli one, nothing pertaining to El Al specifically.
It’s times like these where I wish my 7.5 hour delay was a full 8…oh well.
You’ll find that delayed flights usually manage to just slightly steer clear of the length of time that would cause compensation to be due. You can see that with Europe flights as well because the EU has similar laws to Israel on this matter.
Why was today’s 002 from Elal cancelled
One of my friends filed with Air Canada and specifically demanded IL compensation. They offered him 25% off on AC for up to 4 pax He called and asked why he can’t get full compensation, and they told him that the law is only when flying from IL. How does he prove them wrong?
(story: his flight from EWR to YUL was delayed so he would miss his connection. So they re-routed him JFK-IST-TLV on TK and he arrived 11 hours later than scheduled)
The law is either TO or FROM Israel.
Agreed. But how does he prove them?
Show a copy of the law. Though not the official version, see here https://www.united.com/web/format/pdf/travel/destination/international/Notice-for-customers-traveling-to-or-from-Israel-English.pdf
Got that. Just wasn’t sure of AC would accept that. Thanks
Regardless he’s wrong. The flight was from EWR to YUL, so he’s ineligible. The leg that was to our from Israel wasn’t delayed.
That’s nonsense. It’s a connection flight and he arrived in TLV more than 8 hours late. No difference which of the flights caused the delay.
I filed a claim with United after my flight was canceled due to a mechanical issue.
This was part of their response and they refused to budge saying their legal department was involved in the decision. Do I have any other options?
“Because all routine preventative maintenance actions were performed on the aircraft as scheduled, and the cancellation could not have been reasonably predicted or avoided, the event is considered force majeure and exclusionary to the mandatory compensation rules.”
I was in the same situation and here is the email I sent which got me the full compensation of 3080NIS.
In reference to our previous discussion, i would like to quote you the exact law under Israeli aviation in 6E.
1- “the flight has been canceled due to special circumstances not under its control,
And even if it would have done whatever was under its control it could not have prevented the cancellation due to those circumstances;
2.the fight was canceled due a strike or protected work by rule strike.”
A mechanical issue does not fall into these catagories and therefore i respectfully disagree. If United legal team believes that such an issue falls into these catagories, I am willing to take this matter to court and let the judge clarify this matter.
I hope to resolve this matter in a amicable fashion, and come to an agreement on cash compensation.
*categories
@josh
I emailed them about a flight delayed for 24 hours bec of mechanical failure and they were stubborn about giving 250 vouchers each and kept saying legal team was siding with not giving comp. and not responsible to compensate with cash and doesn’t apply in this case etc
Today I responded to their latest email by copying and pasting word for word what you wrote above and they offered either 1k in vouchers each pax or 30k miles or check for approx 850$.
Guess they realized that they were not fooling me with the legal bs. Ty!
Nice.
Where you on the flight UA90 out of EWR on 6/12?
The Israeli law is posted on United’s website.
https://www.united.com/web/format/pdf/travel/destination/international/Notice-for-customers-traveling-to-or-from-Israel-English.pdf
The compensation amounts on here are the law or United policy?
Because I was on ly028 on 08/14/18 and we had a 8 hour delayed departure because of a flat tire and our arrival time was just under 8 hours late.
Israeli law.
Thank you
It may have been a bit more than 8 hours.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ELY28/history/20180814/1730Z/KEWR/LLBG
On my booking confirmation it was supposed to land 6:55am, but I booked it back in June.
So which one would they go by?
You’ll have to ask the experts. Sorry I can’t help further.
Ok thank you very much
how can one add his quantas mileage number to get mileage credit for a retroactive flight?
Wow thanks for the info! Just 2 weeks ago onboard UA90 out of Newark the captain announced that there was a mechanical failur and all passengers need to deplane. We left the aircraft and after about an hour they announced the cancelation. Will try…
Question regarding LY002 from 6/27/18 – my relatives were scheduled for this flight. They were notified that the flight was cancelled. El Al moved them to a Delta/Air France flight with a layover in Paris. The Tel Aviv arrival (AF1620) is scheduled for 3:20pm – only about 4 hours later than the LY002 was scheduled to arrive at 11:25am. Would this still be eligible to receive the compensation considering the original flight was completely cancelled and not just delayed?
It’s based on hours late if the airline rebooked them.
ly 8 is not cancelled
fake news
Dan,
We recently had a story with Alitalia from TLV to JFK. It was a long chain of negligence or worse by the airline. I believe it could be a basis for a lawsuit.
Can you recommend an attorney etc who can guide/advice me how to go about it?
Thsnks
Perhaps try AirHelp.com
I flew on Air Canada, and my flight was delayed and ended up missing my connection. It took a lot of emails back and forth, but I ended up getting compensated under the Israel Aviation Law
Delta has a specific page for Israel delays with a lot of useful info –
https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/ticket-changes-refunds/israel-refund-or-compensation-request.html
To ER
No they didn’t get any email just when they got to the airport they were told about it.
Was traveling w 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 infants, we were sent off a united flight from tel aviv after a 2 hour delay due to mechanical error rebooked for us 24 hour later and gave us hotel accommodations and $800. Voucher for everyone together.
Is there anything else i could get?
European law that European air lines, or any flights that land / tack of (even a connection with El al) throw Europe, have a mother benefit, of landing late from 3 hours.
250€ for a flight up to 1,500KM, 400€ for a flight 1.500-3,500KM, and 600€ for flights more then 3,500KM.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm#apr-problems
what was the reason for the cancellations of 02 and 11
Does it happen frequently?
what about the money you paid for to take the flight do you get compensated for that?
My United flight from TLV was cancelled. After emailing they offered $1000 travel voucher or 3080 ₪. I chose the cash. About 2/3 months later I received a check mailed from United’s London office. It was an Israeli check drawn on Citibank Israel written out to me, stamped “may only be cashed(or maybe deposited) by the person names on the check”. It was quite difficult to cash out that check. If you’re in a similar situation I highly recommend that you take the $1000 travel voucher.
Just flew united Newark to israel. Had a 9 hour delay. They offered $150 or 7500 miles. Seems like nothing compared to what you say.
Was just on United flight from Newark to Israel. Flight delayed 9 hours cause of crew issues. They offered $150 or 7500 miles in an email and in the plane. We accepted miles. We see now we should have been compensated more. How can we claim the rest of what we deserve?
Contrary to some comments posted yesterday, Flights 2 and 11 WERE canceled on Wednesday, June 27, according to Flightaware.com website.
The difference between most airlines and El Al is that the other airlines get caught by genuinely unforeseeable circumstances. El Al gets caught by bad planning and arrogance.
Thank you for contacting United Airlines regarding your recent travel with us.
We have again reviewed your request for cash compensation and found that we complied with all the applicable regulations at the time of your flight.
I understand that the delay was, at best, very frustrating and truly regret you were disappointed. Please let me explain why cash compensation is not applicable under the Israeli Air Passenger Law. Because all routine preventative maintenance actions were performed on the aircraft as scheduled, and the cancellation could not have been reasonably predicted or avoided, the event is considered force majeure and exclusionary to the mandatory compensation rules.
Please know that our legal department carefully reviews each of these matters with our system and technical operations groups to ensure we are in full compliance with the appropriate legal standards. Although the cause of the irregularity was extraordinary and unable to be avoided, we did what we could to minimize it, and have nothing further to advise at this point.
Because we do recognize that your flight plans were negatively impacted, as a tangible gesture of our regret, we proactively sent each passenger who we had contact information for, an electronic travel certificate valid toward a discount on a future United flight.
Please provide me with the names, addresses and emails of the others traveling with you and I will ensure they receive the same consideration you did.
Although additional compensation is not forthcoming, we sincerely hope that you will choose to fly with United Airlines in the future.
Kind Regards,
Melanie Long
Corporate Customer Care
International Regulatory, Sales, Alliances
my mum was supposed to leave for Israel on the 27th June but seems she couldn’t make it. I’m just hearing from her now and she’s not giving me details.I had to search the website to know if anything went wrong and stumbled on this.
Hi Dan (or anyone else that can advise please)
Last week I arrived at Ben Gurion 3 hours b4 flight (United – TLV to EWR 12:15 pm) and was told that the flight was delayed for 8 hours.
I received no email or call from them whatsoever. The supervisor advised me to take the 11:10 pm flight and told me to go home in the meantime. He said they don’t give taxi vouchers in TLV but that I would be reimbursed for the taxi by United.
(Paid $88 for taxi on CSR)
BTW – This flight was award travel. I paid the taxes and fees on CSR as well.
The delay really through things off for me and I had to call united in the evening and tell them that because of the long delay, I would have to postpone the trip altogether.
The united agent advised me to email customer service for the taxi reimbursement and compensation which I did that same day. Today I received an email from united with a $150 electronic travel certificate, and no mention from them about the taxi.
I would really appreciate any advice on how to move forward with this.
Thank you very much.
Are US residence eligible for this compensation? EL AL online form does not allow you to chose USA as country of residence
Yes.
Just leave the country blank.
The link to file a complaint with El Al seems to be dead (“Access Denied”). Is there a new page to file a complaint with them?
I had an El Al flight cancelled on me due to pilot strikes in November 2017 and was put on a United flight 12 hours later. I wrote to El Al and was offered $200 voucher for another flight. Do I take it or is there a way to get (more) cash?
Tell them that you are owed more per the law.
This was in the email they sent: “In accordance with Israeli law passengers are not entitled to compensation. ”
Is it reasonable to request a monetary compensation instead of vouchers?
Find a firm to sue them for you. They’re out there.
My daughter and her family (6 + a lap infant) were booked on El Al flight LY011 on June 27, 2018, from Tel Aviv to JFK which was canceled. We filled out the form on ElAl’s site and within 4 weeks with no argument, we received a check for $5,080 (compensation for 6 tickets). Although the flight(s) ElAl rescheduled them on turned into a nightmare, considering the tickets were about $6,100, they got a six week visit to America at quite a bargain.
Am I by law entitled to compensation for an infant ticket? Elal says no
My flight with air Canada from jfk to tel Aviv with a stop in Canada was delayed in new York for a hour and because of that I missed the connection and arrived in Israel about 24 hours late, is it considered a delay of more than 8 hours that is eligible for compensation, or like a 1 hour delay that is not eligible for compensation
I was successful in making a claim with El Al. I was scheduled to fly from TLV to LHR and then make a connection on Air New Zealand to LAX. The flight from TLV was delayed due to mechanical issues and I ended up missing my connection. I was rebooked for the following day and was provided overnight accommodations. I filed a complaint (per the instructions in this post) with El Al and the initial responses was that the flight was delayed less than 2 hours (which was true) so I am not entitled to any compensation. I was offered a $200 voucher as a token of their apology. I politely responded that the less than 2 hour delay caused me to arrive at my final destination a day late and hence I was delayed more than 8 hours. The next offer was for a free round trip ticket on El Al for each one of us (3). It was tempting but since I did not know our future travel plans I responded by thanking them for their generous offer but since I did not know our travel plans I would like the cash compensation due under the Israel Aviation Service law. To my amazement the next email was saying that we are entitled to the cash compensation and asking for an address for the check. I received the check today in the full amount for the three of us. The whole process took about 6 weeks. I am impressed that the issue was resolved so easily considering all of the negative posts.
Where does it say this includes mechanical delays in the law?
Hi I booked a ticket for the El Al flight ly008 on April 17 2021 from jfk to tlv and after boarding the flight we had a delay for 6 hours and then the pilot said that we have to deboard do to mechanical failure and then El Al canceled the flight and they put me on a flight for the next day. and under the Israeli aviation law if a airline cancels a flight less then 7 day notice and the flight is over 4,500 kms and you arrived to your destination 8 hours later then the planned arrival time your entitled to a voucher of 3,080 NIS. And I reached out to El Al and they are only willing to give $200.
Does anybody have a idea how I could get a compensation from them.
thanx.
Any links for America Airlines? We just had a cancelled flight (rebooked 15 hours later)
I was on flight LY27 on April 26, 2022. The flight was canceled. A replacement flight was issued 9 hours later. I am looking for compensation. What to do?
The instructions “after the flight”, click on “other”, click “continue”, etc, don’t appear on the website.
What to do?
On April 26 my wife and I were at the Ben Gurion airport for a 00:30 flight to Newark NJ USA.
At the gate, at boarding time, we were told the flight was canceled.
We were told a replacement flight was available at 09:30 the next morning.
No accommodations were available for the next 9 hours.
My wife and I are in our 70s. With nowhere to go we lay on the airport floor till the next flight was ready.
We are deeply disappointed in El Al and its lack of concern for its passengers.
After filing a claim for compensation for myself and my wife, we got this answer:
“Dear passenger,
Thank you for contacting El Al customer relations.
CLBS 2022 XXXXXX Your case number is:
Due to the current situation, and the guidelines of various authorities, we are working with limited manpower and experiencing higher than normal volume of correspondence.
We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope to return to regular activities soon.
Sincerely,
Customer Relations”
can i claim compensation for connecting flight thru turkey that missed connection and came because of that 13 hours late
My ITA flight tlv-fco (booked via Virgin w/ miles) was cancelled by the airline. Then rebooked BA tlv-lhr (booked via aa w/ aa miles) was cancelled as well. Do I get compensation, or the current situation in Israel is considered Special Circumstances. If I do get compensation, who do I turn to, the airline or Travel Insurance? And what compensation policy do I quote, Israel, or European?