Flight Delays and Cancellations from Israel: Here’s What To Do

Written By Amy Lancelotte

Last Updated: June 07, 2024

In April 2024 alone, over 50,000 Israel flight passengers cancelled their travel plans due to severe price increases and rising tensions in the area. Add this to the airlines who have recently suspended flights to Israel altogether and you have the makings of thousands of disrupted passengers.

If you’re one of the over 20 million international passengers flying to or from Israel, you need to know that there are two different types of compensation for delayed and cancelled flights: compensation based on the rules in Israel and compensation based on the rules in the EU or UK.

It can be tricky to make sense of all the possibilities, so if you’re interested in maximizing your compensation claim, you’re in the right place.

We’ve helped more than 250,000 passengers from all over the world get the highest payouts from airlines for cancellations and delays.

Here’s what we’ll explore:

• Israel flight cancellation compensation can be from NIS 1,250 to NIS 3,000.
• Passengers do not receive monetary compensation in Israel for flight delays unless the delay is 8 hours or more, at which point it is considered a flight cancellation.
• Flights departing from or arriving at an EU or UK airport may also entitle passengers to different compensation - between €125 (£110) and €600 (£520).
• When you need help for compensation related to Israel flights cancelled today or significant delays, we can help you claim the maximum from the airline.

The Israeli Aviation Services Law 

This law provides protections and compensation rights for passengers experiencing flight delays or cancellations in Israel.

Israel Flights Cancelled

As per the Israeli Aviation Services Law, cancelled Israel flights are those that don’t take off at all or those that depart at least 8 hours late.

To qualify for Israel cancelled flight compensation, you must receive less than 14 days' notice and the airline must not rebook you on an alternate flight that departs within 2 hours and arrives within 4 hours of the original one. Your compensation amounts depend on your flight distance and are as follows:

Israel Flights Delayed

For delays exceeding 2 hours, airlines are required to provide meals, refreshments, and communication services. If overnight accommodation is necessary, it should also be provided, along with airport transfers to and from the hotel.

We know that once a flight is delayed by 8 hours it is considered “cancelled” for the purposes of the law. If your Israel flight is delayed between 5 and 8 hours, you have the aforementioned right to assistance services like refreshments and communication plus the option to book a new flight at no additional charge or get a full ticket refund if you no longer wish to travel.

Other Regulations For Flight Compensation Israel - EU & UK

Just because your delayed or cancelled flight is to or from Israel doesn’t mean that you are exclusively limited to the Israeli Aviation Services Law. Both the UK and EU have a similar (if not even more generous) regulation that protects passengers in the event of a disruption.

To be able to claim cancellation or flight delay compensation within the UK or EU, your flight must depart from an airport in either of these regions. Additionally, if your flight is departing from Israel and arriving at an EU or UK airport, you may also qualify if the airline is based in the EU or UK. 

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EU261 and UK261 - What Flights Qualify?

The associated EU and UK regulations are called EU 261 and UK 261, and to further clarify when you can claim compensation under these rules, here’s a breakdown:

The flight route isn’t the only condition for getting delay or cancellation compensation from the airline. Your flight must also be:

• Delayed by at least 3 hours (measured from the actual arrival time at your final destination).
• Cancelled within fewer than 14 days of departure.

Your actual payout from the airline will depend on the distance of your flight, like the Aviation Services Law. For flights under 1,500km, passengers can claim up to £220 for delays. Flights between 1,500km and 3,500km entitle passengers to £350, and for flights over 3,500km, the compensation can be as high as £520. Chances are that if you’re claiming for a delayed Israel flight, you’ll fall into the 2 higher categories.

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All you have to do is submit the application and wait for the compensation to be received.

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Flight Delay Compensation Israel - Some Examples

We have a lot of different regulations in play for Israel cancelled flights and delays. Now, let’s take some of the more popular routes and explain why (or why not) passengers would qualify for compensation. 

Tel Aviv to London: flight distance 3,590km

A popular flight from Tel Aviv is the one to London’s Heathrow Airport. In this case, the Israeli Aviation Service Law would apply unless you are flying with a UK-based airline such as British Airways. If your airline is UK-based and the delay is at least 3 hours, you can claim up to £520 in delayed flight compensation using regulation UK261. 

If your airline is from Israel or based anywhere other than the UK, you would only be able to claim assistance services once the flight is delayed by 2 hours and a refund or replacement flight if the delay gets over 5 hours. Alternatively, if you’re delayed by 8 hours or more, then the flight falls into the law’s Israel cancelled flights section. This makes you eligible for NIS 2,000 in compensation due to the flight distance. 

Paris to Jerusalem: flight distance 3,330km

Now let’s assume that you’re travelling from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (an EU departure point) to Jerusalem using Air France (EU-based). If your flight is delayed by 4 hours, for example, you can claim up to €400 through regulation EU261. 

London to Jerusalem: flight distance 3,600km

In this example, UK261 applies regardless of which airline you’re flying with. Provided your flight is delayed by 3 hours or more, it’s possible to claim for up to £520. But if we reverse this route and you’re not flying a UK airline, you can only claim through the Israeli Aviation Services Law. A delay of only 3 hours means you would not qualify for any monetary compensation - just services like phone calls and refreshments.

Athens to Tel Aviv: flight distance 1,200km

This is another route with a departure from the EU, which triggers EU261 for flight delays over 3 hours. Based on flight distance, passengers can claim compensation for this delayed flight to Israel up to €250.

Tel Aviv to New York: flight distance 9,100km

Since there are no departure or arrival points within either the EU or the UK, in this case, the Israeli Aviation Services Law is the only regulation that would apply. Flights delayed by 8 hours or more would be entitled to up to NIS 3,000 in compensation since the distance exceeds 4,500km.

It’s always a bit confusing when dealing with multiple regulations from multiple countries, so if you want to know if you can claim interrupted flights within the EU or UK, you can always use our convenient (and free) flight checker.

Extraordinary Circumstances - The Main Exception

Both the EU and UK regulations have an exception to compensation eligibility called extraordinary circumstances. In fact, the Aviation Services Law has it, too. The purpose of the extraordinary circumstances clause is to limit the airline’s liability if an interruption is caused by something entirely outside its control.

In the case of Israel, common extraordinary circumstances currently include political unrest and war. Other notable extraordinary circumstances are unsafe weather conditions, air traffic control issues, and security threats.

While this might seem like everything falls under this exception, if the airline doesn’t have enough staff to cover the scheduled flights or there is an airline strike that causes delays or Israel cancelled flights, you can absolutely file a claim for up to €600 (£520).

Claiming For Israel Cancelled Flights - Routes That Involve the UK or EU

Filing a claim for Israel cancelled flights or delays is a piece of cake when you partner with AirAdvisor. As long as your flight triggers EU 261 or UK 261, we can help you get the maximum compensation from the airline. Here’s what to do:

1. Go to our homepage for access to the best airline compensation experts.
2. Input your flight and situation details by following the clear prompts.
3. Include relevant supporting documents to validate the disruption claim.
4. Leave everything in our capable hands and we’ll follow up on your behalf and only contact you if we have questions or to let you know that the claim is resolved.

For the convenience and expertise provided by AirAdvisor, we levy a small percentage to cover costs, but only on successful claims. Should the airline not issue a payout (which is rare), you do not need to pay us anything.

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Israel Cancelled Flights - Compensation Time Limit

According to the Aviation Services Law, passengers have up to 4 years from the date of the flight disruption to file a claim. It’s better to do this ASAP rather than risk forgetting about the claim entirely.

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