Court Orders Ukraine Airlines to Pay for Anti-Semitic Remarks

An Israeli court ruled on Tuesday that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) must pay compensation to two passengers who were subjected to anti-Semitic remarks by airline staff, Globes reported.

In an incident that occurred on April 24, 2019 on a UIA flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv with a stopover in Kiev, the passengers were ridiculed for attempting to switch items from their suitcases to backpacks to avoid an overweight fee for an extra 100 grams.

The UIA personnel commented in English, smirkingly, “Why do Jews always have a problem about paying?” and “Only €60 and the Jews have a problem about paying.” They also joked among themselves in German in front of other passengers.

The passengers claimed they were prevented from boarding their flight because of overbooking, but UIA said it was because they refused to pay for excess baggage – a claim that the court accepted.

Rishon Lezion Small Claims Court Judge Dalia Oestreicher ordered the Ukrainian airline to pay 5,000 shekels compensation for verbal abuse as well as a delay in receipt of the baggage in Israel, after they refused to pay for excess baggage.

UIA denied that allegations, insisting that, on the contrary, it the passengers were the ones who behaved badly, insulting their staff, raising their voices and disrupting barding procedures, according to Globes.

The judge accepted the passengers’ version that they were racially abused and ordered UIA to pay them NIS 2,000 each and a further NIS 1,000 for the delay in their receiving the baggage.