Cash compensation and a ticket refund are two separate rights. Even when the airline is exempt from compensation – because of early notice, weather, security or Shabbat – the right to get all your money back usually remains.
When you’re owed a full refund
Under Israel’s Aviation Services Law, you may choose between a full refund and an alternative ticket, among others in these cases:
- The flight was cancelled – however early you were told. Even with a month’s notice and no compensation, the refund is due.
- The flight was delayed 5 hours or more and you decided not to fly.
- The flight was brought forward by more than 5 hours.
- You were denied boarding against your will.
Even when the airline is exempt from compensation because of "special circumstances" or to avoid desecrating Shabbat, the right to a refund remains.
What the refund includes
- Everything you paid for the ticket, including taxes, fees and charges.
- In money. A voucher or credit is only an option – if you agree to it.
- No handling fees. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in October 2026 that a travel agency may not deduct a handling fee from the refund it passes on from the airline.
- If you had already set out and decided not to continue because of the cancellation or delay, the law also gives you a free ticket back to where you started.
How fast
The airline must pay you back within 21 days of your written request. A class action filed in 2026 challenges El Al’s practice of refunding in installments when the customer had paid in advance.
The airline must offer you the choice
Israel’s Supreme Court held in 2026 that an airline must actively tell a passenger whose flight was cancelled about the right to choose between a refund and an alternative ticket. If you were simply moved to another flight without being asked, your rights may have been breached.
How to ask
- Email the airline (or the agency you booked through): "I choose a full refund of the ticket price, in money."
- Give your booking reference, flight number and date, and attach the booking confirmation.
- If 21 days pass without payment, send a reminder; after that you can file a small claim.
- Our free claim kit builds a ready claim letter for you, including the refund request.
Flying from Europe or the US?
Europe’s EU261 also gives a full refund for a cancellation, and in the US an airline that cancels must refund in money – not a voucher – if you choose not to travel.
General information, not legal advice. EinTisa is not a law firm.