Arkia, Israir airlines sued for allegedly violating Israeli consumer protection laws

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Israeli airlines Israir and Arkia for allegedly violating Israeli consumer protection laws by withholding fees it was supposed to refund to passengers. According to the lawsuit, filed by attorneys Nitzan Gadot and Rotem Sagi, passengers assigned to Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion Airport are required to pay a lower departure fee than those assigned to Terminal 3, since there are more services and amenities offered at the latter. The fee, paid by any passenger leaving the country via Ben Gurion Airport, is $30.36 at Terminal 1 and $13.99 at Terminal 1. The fee is paid directly to the airlines, which then pass it on to the Airports Authority. According to the lawsuit, issues arise when passengers are asked to depart from a different terminal than the one they were originally assigned, and are not given the $16.37 difference. Airlines sometimes switch a passenger’s departing terminal due to flights being canceled or in an effort to manage passenger congestion.<br/>