Not allowed to board your flight?
A passenger who had a ticket and was not allowed to board is eligible, under section 5 of Israel's Aviation Services Law, for 3 things together: cash compensation by flight distance, assistance paid by the airline, and a ticket refund or an alternative ticket of their choice. Unlike a cancelled flight, here the airline has no special-circumstances exemption.
Eligibility check in 3 questions
Section 5 of Israel's Aviation Services Law covers a passenger who had a ticket and was not allowed to board. Your answers decide whether you are likely eligible, and we explain which section applies.
Why this is one of the strongest cases there are
In most compensation cases the airline tries to rely on the special-circumstances exemption in section 6(e): weather, a technical fault, the security situation. That exemption was written for flight cancellations, and it simply does not exist in section 5. Overbooking is a business decision by the airline, which sells more tickets than seats on the assumption that not everyone will show up. When that assumption fails, the law puts the cost on the airline.
So when the facts are clear, the airline has few arguments left: that the passenger volunteered, that the refusal was for one of the reasons in section 5(d), or that an alternative ticket brought the passenger to the destination within the window in section 5(c).
What to keep, and what to do at the gate
- Your boarding pass or booking confirmation. It proves you were booked on the flight, and everything else rests on it.
- Ask for the reason in writing. The airline must tell passengers about their rights. A written reason, even an email, fixes its version in advance.
- Ask whether they looked for volunteers. If not, write it down. That alone is a breach of section 5(a).
- Do not give up your seat before you know what you are owed. A voucher of a few hundred shekels may be lower than the fixed compensation in the law.
- Keep receipts for hotel, transport and food. These are separate rights that remain even when the cash compensation is disputed.
What we do not do
FlyBack is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. The check on this page is a reasoned decision based on what you told us and on the wording of the law, not an opinion on a case. A denied boarding is not recorded on the Ben Gurion flight board, so we check it by hand against your documents, and we tell you when we think there is no claim. What we do not do
Frequently asked questions
I was not allowed to board because of overbooking. What am I owed?
Section 5(b) of Israel's Aviation Services Law gives you 3 things together: cash compensation by flight distance (₪1,530, ₪2,450 or ₪3,670 per passenger), assistance paid by the airline, and a refund of the ticket price or an alternative flight ticket, as the passenger chooses. The compensation does not depend on what you paid for the ticket.
Can the airline claim special circumstances and avoid paying?
No. The special-circumstances exemption is in section 6(e) and applies to flight cancellations. Section 5, which covers denied boarding, has no such exemption. An airline that oversold tickets and could not seat everyone holding a ticket cannot blame it on force majeure. This is one of the reasons a denied-boarding case is among the strongest there are.
Must the airline look for volunteers before removing someone?
Yes. Section 5(a) requires the operator to first ask the booked passengers whether anyone is willing to give up their seat in exchange for agreed benefits. If they did not look for volunteers at all and just told you that you were not boarding, that is a separate breach of the duty, and it is worth mentioning in the demand.
I volunteered to give up my seat and got a voucher. Am I also owed compensation?
A passenger who agreed to give up their seat in exchange for agreed benefits is not counted as denied boarding under section 5, and the arrangement that applies is what was agreed with them. So it is important to know what the law gives before you accept a voucher: sometimes the offer is lower than the fixed compensation in the law that you would have had without volunteering.
I was refused boarding for security reasons. Do I have a claim at all?
Possibly yes, and many people do not know this rule. Section 5(d) does exclude refusals for reasons of security, health, safety or travel documents, but section 5(e) says that a passenger refused for security reasons is eligible for compensation if 3 conditions are all met: they arrived at the airport at least 3 hours before departure, cooperated with the security check and were cleared to fly at the end of it, and their travel documents were valid.
The airline put me on another flight. Does that cancel the compensation?
It does not cancel it, but it may reduce it by half. Under section 5(c), if you got an alternative ticket and reached your final destination no more than 4 hours late on a flight of 2,000 km or less, 5 hours on a flight of 2,000-4,500 km, or 6 hours on a longer flight, the airline may pay half. A longer delay keeps the full compensation. Note that these windows are wider than the ones for a cancelled flight.
How far back can I claim?
4 years from the day of the flight. When you are eligible and a written demand was sent, the compensation should be paid within 45 days, and the ticket price refunded within 21 days.
There is no record of this on the Ben Gurion flight board, so how do I prove it?
Right, and that is the key difference. A denied boarding leaves no trace on the flight board, because the flight itself took off as usual. The proof rests on what you have: the boarding pass or booking confirmation showing you were booked, any document or message given at the gate, the alternative flight ticket if you got one, and receipts for expenses. The airline's own reply is also evidence, which is why the demand is sent in writing and recorded.