Kuwait Airways Sued for Anti-Israeli Discrimination

YERUSHALAYIM
A Kuwait Airways Airbus A330-200. (Kambui)

Kuwait Airways has again been accused of discriminating against Israelis, refusing service on the basis of nationality, The Times of Israel reported on Monday.

The Lawfare Project said it has filed suit in a German district court on behalf of Shmuel M., a Frankfurt-based Israeli businessman who bought a ticket to Sri Lanka two years ago but was not allowed to board the flight. The businessman’s last name was kept confidential, conforming to German court rules.

Lawfare alleged that airline representatives informed him that he would not be allowed to board his November 2017 flight from Munich to Colombo after they learned that he was Israeli.

This was not the first time that the carrier has been accused of an anti-Israel policy. In its defense, the state-owned airline has cited Kuwaiti law prohibiting all commercial relations with Israelis and Israeli companies.

A 2017 discrimination suit filed by the New York-based Lawfare Project on behalf of an Israeli student in 2017 was struck down by a German court which ruled it was “unreasonable” to expect the airline to violate the laws of its country, if even they are offensive to others.

While the airline has fared well so far in German courts, that has not been the case elsewhere. The policy has cost the airline several lucrative routes as officials in the U.S. and Switzerland ruled in favor of previous Israeli plaintiffs.

The Lawfare Project said Kuwait Airways did not immediately respond to its suit, but it expects an initial hearing to be held in the case later this year.

 

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