El Al Israel Airlines (TASE: ELAL) will pay compensation of NIS 59.9 million, including costs, in a settlement of a class action filed in the Central District Court. The settlement is subject to the court’s approval.
The settlement comes after thirteen years of hearings of claims originating in 2000, twenty-six years ago. The application for a class action was filed in 2013 by non-profit organization Hatzlacha - The Movement for a Fair Society, which was represented by Adv. Amit Manor and Adv. Yuki Shemesh. The owner of El Al at the time was Knafaim Holdings, controlled by the Borovich family.
The action alleged that El Al and other companies were part of a global cartel that coordinated various components of air cargo prices, including fuel and security supplements.
Throughout the proceedings and in the settlement submitted to the court, El Al denied and rejected these claims or any claim that it was party to a binding arrangement or cartel, and argued that its conduct was blameless.
The settlement is expected to put an end to the dispute, after a prolonged mediation process.
Who is entitled to compensation?
In the settlement, it is agreed that El Al will pay NIS 50 million to the group of claimants, plus costs of some NIS 10 million.
The claimants entitled to compensation are customers who bought, directly or indirectly, shipping services from El Al and are defined as customers of El Al in Israel and abroad, who dispatched cargo to or from Israel, other than from or to the US, between 2000 and February 2006, and purchasers of shipping services from direct customers of El Al in the same period and to the same destinations.
The money will be transferred to the Fund for Managing and Distributing Money from Rulings on Class Actions in the Ministry of Justice, or alternatively the court will appoint a trustee who will determine the extent of damage and the entitlement to compensation in each case. Any money left over will not be returned to El Al but will allocated to public causes relating to rehabilitation of settlements bordering the Gaza Strip.
Proceedings against additional respondents were concluded in March 2025 in a mediation process assisted by Adv. Reli Leshem, and settlements reached by other parties were approved in a partial ruling.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 18, 2026.
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