Airline Refuses To Sell Tickets To Israelis, DOT Threatens Legal Action

Kuwait Airways' refusal to sell tickets to Israeli citizens has led to the cancellation of the airline's New York (KJFK) to Heathrow route, and the threat of legal action by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The DOT has been investigating the airline since 2013, when it refused to sell a ticket on that route to Eldad Gatt, an Israeli citizen.

USA Today reports that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced in September that Kuwait Airways had broken the law by not selling seats to Israelis. The airline contends that it will sell to any passenger regardless of race, national origin, or religion as long as that hold a valid Kuwaiti passport. If it had sold the ticket to Gatt, the airline contends, it would have broken a Kuwaiti law which prohibits Kuwaiti citizens "entering into an agreement, personally or indirectly, with entities or persons residing in Israel or with Israeli citizenship.

Because of the Kuwaiti law, the U.S. dispute was narrowed to flights that did not originate or land in Kuwait, such as the JFK-Heathrow route. The airline has asked for a Federal Court of Appeals review of the dispute.

The airline has not withdrawn that lawsuit, and if it wins, it could reestablish the route with its prohibition against Jews. Gatt said through his attorney Jeffrey Lovitky that he would do everything in his power to be sure that the airline was not able to resume flying the route until it accepts Israeli citizens as passengers.

FMI: www.dot.gov