Israel Flight Delay Compensation: Aviation Services Law Amounts

Which flights does Israel’s Aviation Services Law cover?

Every flight taking off from Israel or flying to Israel is covered, whichever airline operates it, including charters and flights with a stopover. Domestic flights follow separate regulations. Free tickets and fares not available to the public are excluded, but frequent-flyer award tickets are covered.

The law is the Aviation Services Law (Compensation and Assistance for Flight Cancellation or Change of Conditions), 5772-2012, published in Sefer HaChukim 5772 at page 414. Under section 24 it took effect on 16 August 2012. The Civil Aviation Authority’s page on the law summarises it and links the text. The Hebrew text is authoritative; English quotations here are our translation.

Section 1 defines a flight as one taking off from Israel “or to it, including a flight with a stopover”, and an operator as anyone flying passengers for payment from, to or within Israel, with no nationality limit. Section 4 makes the operating airline and any organiser that chartered the seats responsible even without a direct contract with you. Section 18 applies the law to domestic flights, but cash compensation there follows ministerial regulations.

You must check in on time, and the airline may not require check-in more than three hours before departure; that condition does not apply to a cancelled flight (section 2(a)). Section 20 stops double recovery: if you received a benefit under foreign law, such as EU261, you cannot receive the same type of benefit under Israeli law.

How much is Israeli flight compensation in 2026?

For 2026 the First Schedule pays NIS 1,530 for flights up to 2,000 km, NIS 2,450 up to 4,500 km and NIS 3,670 beyond, per passenger. The amounts are updated in line with the consumer price index every 1 January. The airline must pay within 45 days of your written request, in cash, bank transfer or cheque.

Section 13 indexes the amounts each 1 January, rounded to the nearest NIS 10. The 2026 figures come from the Ministry of Transport’s notice in Yalkut HaPirsumim 14222 of 4 February 2026, effective from 1 January 2026. Earlier flights use the amounts published for their year, so check the notice in force on your flight date.

The euro, pound and dollar figures below use the ECB reference rates for 15 October 2026 and are approximate; you are paid in shekels. Distances are great-circle (section 12) to your final destination. Under section 6(b), the airline may halve the compensation, to NIS 765, 1,225 or 1,835, if you accept a replacement flight landing no more than two, three or four hours after the original arrival, depending on distance.

Section 3(a)(4) requires payment in cash, bank transfer or cheque; vouchers or other means need your express written agreement. Section 17 bars any agreement that waives these rights unless it favours you.

When does a delayed or cancelled flight to or from Israel earn compensation?

Cash compensation is due when a flight is cancelled, or takes off eight hours or more late, which the law treats as a cancellation. It is excluded with 14 days’ notice or a close enough alternative, and in extraordinary circumstances, protected strikes, or Shabbat and festival cancellations. Shorter delays bring care and refunds.

Delays are measured at take-off. Section 7(a) gives food, drinks and communication from two hours; section 7(b) gives a refund or replacement ticket from five to under eight hours. Section 1 treats a flight that takes off at least eight hours late as cancelled, so section 6 then applies: assistance, a refund or replacement at your choice, and First Schedule compensation.

Under section 6(c), no compensation is due if the airline proves you were told at least 14 days before the flight; or seven to 14 days before, with an alternative leaving no more than two hours earlier and landing no more than four hours later; or less than seven days before, with an alternative leaving no more than one hour earlier and landing no more than two hours later. Section 6(d) keeps compensation if you refused the alternative because it was not offered to your companion, or for security, religious or medical reasons.

Other triggers carry the same sums. Section 8 pays compensation when departure is brought forward by more than eight hours with less than 14 days’ notice. Section 5 pays it for involuntary denied boarding, halved if you accept a replacement landing within four, five or six hours of the original arrival, depending on distance.

What assistance and refunds does Israeli law give during a delay?

From two hours late you get food, drinks and two phone calls plus a fax or email. From five hours you may choose a refund within 21 days or a replacement ticket, with a hotel if the new flight leaves next day. A cancellation or eight-hour delay adds hotel and transfers whenever an overnight stay is needed.

Section 3(a)(1) defines the assistance: food and drink in line with the waiting time, a hotel where one or more nights’ stay is needed, transfers between the airport and the hotel, and two phone calls plus a fax or email. A delay caused by a protected strike or lockout limits the five-hour rights to a refund with food, drinks and communication (section 7(b)).

A refund under section 3(a)(2) covers everything paid for the ticket, including fees and taxes, within 21 days of your written request. On a connecting ticket with one operator, a problem on any leg entitles you to the full fare if you did not reach your destination. On a return ticket with one airline, a problem on the outbound leg entitles you to the whole fare and on the return leg to half (section 3(b)).

Downgrades are compensated under the Second Schedule as a share of the fare you paid, within 21 days of the flight. Section 15 obliges the travel agent who sold the ticket to help you obtain a refund or compensation if you ask.

When can an airline refuse compensation under Israeli law?

Only on grounds the airline proves: special circumstances beyond its control that it could not prevent even by doing everything in its power, a protected strike or lockout, or a cancellation to avoid breaking Shabbat or a festival. Even then you keep assistance and the choice of a refund or replacement ticket.

Section 6(e) lists the three exemptions, and each applies only to cash compensation. There is no list of qualifying events such as weather or technical faults, and security events are not listed separately: an airline relying on them must bring the cancellation within the special-circumstances test, with the burden of proof on the airline.

In February 2025 the Knesset added section 9A, which also came with a temporary provision for the Swords of Iron war period. Once a declared special situation has lasted more than 14 days, the transport minister may, after consulting the economy minister and with Knesset Economics Committee approval, order that hotel nights are capped at no fewer than two, that the 14-day notice period falls to as little as three days, or that cash compensation for cancellations does not apply.

An order may last up to 60 days, or 45 days where it removes compensation, and must end when the special situation ends. We found no order made under section 9A as of 16 October 2026. If your flight fell during a declared emergency, check the Ministry of Transport’s notices for your dates before you claim.

Does EU261 or UK261 cover El Al flights between Israel and Europe?

Mostly on flights leaving Europe. UK261 covers London–Tel Aviv on El Al as a UK departure, but not the return, because Israeli airlines are not UK or EU carriers. Israel’s law covers both directions on any airline, and section 20 stops you collecting the same type of benefit twice.

UK261 applies to all departures from a UK airport and to UK arrivals only on UK or EU airlines, as Article 3 of the UK regulation and the CAA’s coverage table show. EU passenger rights cover all EU departures but only EU airlines flying in.

That makes Israel’s law unusually wide: Tel Aviv–London on a UK airline can fall under both the Israeli law and UK261, and London–Tel Aviv on El Al under UK261 and the Israeli law. A passenger who received a benefit under foreign law cannot receive “the same type” under the Israeli law, and the European rules exclude passengers who received benefits and assistance in the third country.

The triggers differ, so compare before you claim. UK261 and EU261 pay from a three-hour arrival delay; the Israeli law pays only for cancellations and take-offs eight hours or more late, but its long-haul amount of NIS 3,670 is more than £520 at current rates. Compare the European regimes in our UK261 vs EU261 guide and EU261 rules guide.

Does AirHelp handle claims under Israel’s Aviation Services Law?

No. AirHelp has no page for Israeli law, and its El Al page covers only EU and UK claims, so it does not say it pursues claims under the Aviation Services Law. It can still handle a flight that UK261 or EU261 covers, such as a London–Tel Aviv departure, for its usual success fee.

We checked AirHelp’s UK and international sites on 16 October 2026. Its passenger-rights address for Israel returns no page, and its El Al page quotes only UK 261 amounts in pounds and euros. In this region its country pages cover Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman.

For a flight that only Israel’s law covers, such as Tel Aviv–London on El Al, the claim is made to the airline in writing: section 3(a)(4) gives it 45 days from your written request to pay compensation, and section 3(a)(2) gives it 21 days to refund a fare. The law gives no regulator a role in deciding individual claims; disputes go to court.

For a flight UK261 or EU261 also covers, AirHelp’s standard fee is 35% including VAT, plus 15% if legal action is needed, per its fee page updated 11 August 2026. We do not place an AirHelp claim link on this guide because the Israeli law itself is outside its service.

How long do you have to claim under Israel’s law, and where do disputes go?

Four years. Section 19 sets a four-year limitation period from the event giving rise to the claim, shorter than Israel’s general seven years. Disputes go to court, often the small claims court, where the 2026 ceiling is NIS 39,900. A court can add up to NIS 12,240 in exemplary damages for knowing breaches.

Section 19 counts the four years from the day the qualifying event occurred. The small claims ceiling of NIS 39,900 from 1 January 2026 appears in the same Yalkut HaPirsumim issue as the 2026 compensation amounts.

Section 11 lets a court award exemplary damages of up to NIS 12,240 in 2026, without proof of loss, where an airline knowingly failed to give the benefits the law requires for denied boarding, cancellations, delays, earlier departures or downgrades. They come on top of the benefits themselves.

Section 14 requires airlines to display passengers’ rights where they serve customers and online, and to give eligible passengers a document setting out their rights. Keep it with your booking, boarding pass and every message about the disruption. Our DIY claim guide explains evidence and letter structure, but its templates cite UK and EU law, so replace the legal basis with the Israeli sections.

• Booking confirmation, including the operator and any tour organiser.
• Scheduled and actual take-off times, with time zones.
• The cancellation or change notice, with the date you received it.
• Every alternative flight offered, and your reply.
• Your written request to the airline and the date you sent it.