Flight cancellation: the complete guide to your rights

You have three rights at the same time. The airline must present options for reaching your destination. You choose between a full refund of the ticket price and an alternative ticket. And, when the conditions are met, the law sets fixed cash compensation by flight distance. While you wait for a flight you are also entitled to assistance (food, communication, and sometimes a hotel). Whether compensation applies depends on when you were told, what alternative was offered, and the exceptions in the law.

₪1,530 for a flight of 2,000 km or less, ₪2,450 for 2,000-4,500 km, and ₪3,670 for over 4,500 km. This is per eligible passenger, regardless of the ticket price, and in addition to the refund or alternative ticket, when the conditions are met: notice of less than 14 days, no alternative within the time limits in the law, and no exemption. The amounts are set in the First Schedule of Israel's Aviation Services Law.

The timing of the notice is one of the main factors. Notice of 14 days or more before the flight rules out cash compensation. Notice of 7-14 days rules it out only if you were offered an alternative that departs no more than 2 hours earlier and lands no more than 4 hours later. With less than a week's notice the alternative must be even closer: 1 hour earlier and 2 hours later. The alternative flight offered and the exemptions in the law must also be checked. In every case you keep the refund or alternative ticket.

The law sets a refund of the ticket price within 21 days of a written demand, and payment of the cash compensation within 45 days. The law does not require the airline to reply as such. If nothing is paid after the deadline, you can file a claim in small claims court. Exemplary damages are possible only if the court finds a knowing breach, at its discretion.

4 years back from the flight date (the limitation period). A flight that was cancelled two or three years ago is still worth checking.

For a booking made remotely (website or phone), Israel's Consumer Protection Law generally lets you cancel within 14 days of booking or of receiving the required disclosure document, whichever is later, as long as more than 7 days that are not rest days remain before the flight. The cancellation fee is 5% of the price or ₪100, whichever is lower. Senior citizens, people with a disability and new immigrants may have up to 4 months if the booking included a conversation with the business. Outside these windows, the airline's or travel agent's conditions apply.

A refund means getting back what you paid for the ticket (or an alternative ticket, your choice). Compensation is a fixed amount set by law that comes on top of the refund when the airline cancelled the flight. These are two separate rights, and when the conditions for compensation are met, you are entitled to both.

These are two completely separate tracks. Travel insurance reimburses proven expenses you actually had, such as a hotel, an alternative flight or essential purchases, subject to your policy's limits and conditions. Where the conditions in the Aviation Services Law are met and no exemption applies, the airline may owe fixed compensation of ₪1,530-₪3,670 per eligible passenger by distance, regardless of your actual expenses and whether or not you have insurance. You cannot be paid twice for the same specific expense, but you can claim the fixed compensation and the expenses your insurance did not cover in parallel.

The Aviation Services Law does not require the airline to refund extras you booked separately, such as a hotel, a rental car or attraction tickets. That is what the law says, and we tell you as it is. What you can claim: the fixed compensation by flight distance, per passenger; a refund of the ticket price or an alternative ticket, your choice; and assistance. If the airline failed to provide the assistance it had to provide (such as food or a hotel while you waited), reasonable documented costs for that assistance may be recoverable. Keep all receipts. The rest of the loss is sometimes covered by travel insurance, under the trip cancellation section of the policy.

Not legally: the law covers flights to and from Israel, so a return flight is covered just like the outbound one. What changes is the evidence. Our main source is the Ben Gurion flight board, which reflects departures from Israel well, but does not always show the exact moment a flight to Israel was delayed or cancelled at the origin airport. We flag these cases for individual review, not an automatic decision.