"Chairperson Carmel Shama:
But that's another issue - force majeure and weather damage. In the matter of Shabbat, it has to do with El Al's choice. This has advantages for her, and it also has a cost. Therefore, the question arises: People who are delayed because of the beginning of Shabbat, because the date of a flight has entered the Shabbat area - what will El Al do for such passengers? I don't expect her to take the plane out anyway, but does she give a hotel or an exchange flight or a credit - what is the remedy she is willing to provide for those passengers? We will make an exception to this situation. Shabbat can turn the situation into a nullification, not a delay.
....
Omer Shalev (legal advisor to El Al-Am):
Sir, I don't have an exact answer from the field. I can say that to the best of my knowledge, of course, we take care of the passengers and keep them safe."
....
Chairperson Carmel Shama:
The law does not distinguish between people according to their beliefs. Every person is equal before the law, and there will be no category of a person according to his beliefs. But a company that takes upon itself in advance of a good will not to fly for a certain period of time - on a Saturday or at another time - because a company can say that it does not fly on Tuesday, for example - and it creates a dead window in its flight schedule, it can create situations in which a delay of an hour becomes a delay of 25 hours. This needs to be addressed. In this case, Shabbat, we don't come here out of religious elements."
(Discussion of January 3, 2011). Emphasis not in the original - A.M.).
Assistance Services
- As stated, Section 6(a) of the Aviation Services Law states that every passenger who has been issued a flight ticket is entitled to receive, in this case, three types of compensation and assistance from the flight operator: 1. Assistance services 2. Refund or alternative flight ticket of the passenger's choice 3. Financial compensation as stated in the first addendum. The plaintiffs claim that no assistance services were provided to the plaintiffs after the flight was canceled, and the defendant sent the plaintiffs to search for independent solutions for 36 hours.
The first compensation, in the form of assistance services, is defined in section 3(a) and includes the supply of food and beverages according to the waiting time, accommodation in a hotel where one or more accommodation is required due to the delay or stay beyond the planned one, transportation services between the airport and the hotel, two phone calls, and sending a message by fax or e-mail of the passenger's choice.