The airline rejected your claim. What to do now

• "Extraordinary circumstances beyond our control": If the airline relies on this exemption, it must prove the conditions in the law: special circumstances outside its control, which meant the cancellation could not have been prevented even if it had done everything it could. A general statement, with no facts linking the event to your flight and no explanation of what was done to avoid the cancellation, does not by itself prove the exemption if the claim is disputed.
• "A technical fault in the aircraft": A technical fault is not automatically a special circumstance under Israeli law. It depends on the nature and cause of the fault, whether it was outside the airline's control, how it led to the cancellation, and what the airline did to avoid it. The key questions are what exactly failed, when the fault was found, and what was done to avoid a cancellation (a replacement aircraft, a leased aircraft, a schedule change).
• "Weather": Weather can be a real outside cause, but it can be checked. Evidence that comparable flights took off at the same time, from the same airport, can be relevant, but it is not conclusive: aircraft, routes and air traffic restrictions can differ. Flight board records are one source for this; weather and air traffic records are others.
• "The security situation": A security event is not an automatic exemption. A specific temporary order may affect the rights for certain dates. Even where no such order applies, the airline may still rely on the general special circumstances defence, but only if it proves all of its conditions for your particular flight.
• "We offered you a voucher or future credit": The choice between a full cash refund and an alternative ticket is the passenger's. Under section 6(a)(2) of the law, the choice between a full refund and an alternative ticket belongs to the passenger, and under section 6(f), the operator or organiser announcing a cancellation must present the passenger with the alternatives for reaching the final destination. Denying the right to choose may give grounds for exemplary damages under section 11 of the law, subject to proof that the breach was knowing.
• "We notified you in advance": Notice given 14 days or more in advance removes the cash compensation, but the burden of proving exactly when the notice was given is on the airline. With shorter notice, the exemption also depends on an alternative flight that departs and lands within narrow time windows set by the law.
• "You bought through an agent, contact them": The duties to compensate and assist fall on the operator or the organiser of the flight. How the ticket was bought does not move that duty to a third party and does not cancel it.

• That there was a booking, and that the flight was cancelled or delayed: the passenger.
• That the circumstances were special and outside the airline's control: the airline.
• That the cancellation could not have been prevented even by doing everything it could: the airline.
• Exactly when the cancellation notice was given: the airline.
• That the choice between a refund and an alternative ticket was presented: the airline.
• Reasonable costs, where the airline did not provide the required assistance: the passenger (with receipts).

Sources: Israel's Aviation Services Law, 5772-2012; Section 6 of the law, cash compensation for a cancelled flight; Sections 6(a)(2) and 6(f) of the Aviation Services Law.

Sections 6(a)(2) and 6(f) of the Aviation Services Law mean that it is not enough for the right to exist on paper. The operator or organiser must present the passenger with the alternatives the law sets, rather than simply giving a voucher in place of the passenger's choice. Denying that choice may also justify exemplary damages, if the breach is proven to be knowing.

In addition, for international carriage covered by the Montreal Convention, Article 19 may give a separate basis for proven loss caused by delay. Under Leave for Civil Appeal 8456/19 Iberia v. Fleischer (14 June 2022), "damage" in Article 19 of the Montreal Convention can also include non-financial damage (distress), subject to proof and to the Convention's conditions and limits. That is a separate type of loss, outside the fixed amount in the law. It needs its own proof, and the same loss cannot be recovered twice.

1. Ask for details. A written request for the details of the claimed circumstances: what happened, when, and what was done to prevent the cancellation. An airline that will not give details weakens its own position in court.
2. Show contradicting evidence. Comparable flights that took off on the same route on the same day, a record of an alternative flight that operated instead of the cancelled one, or records about the claimed cause.
3. Set a payment date. An exact date for payment. If the airline does not pay, the next step can be a claim in small claims court.

Step 2 is the part that is hard to do alone, because the official board shows only a few days back. We keep timestamped snapshots of the Ben Gurion board as it was shown at the time, including other flights that took off the same day, and add them to the demand. The board is important evidence, but not the only evidence.

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