El Al Flight Delay Compensation
El Al operates flights between Israel and major European and North American cities. If your El Al flight departed from an EU airport and arrived 3+ hours late, EU Regulation 261/2004 may entitle you to €250–€600. Check free in 60 seconds.
Check My El Al Flight →EU261 coverage for El Al — key rule
- ✅ EU airport departure (LHR, CDG, AMS, FRA…) → EU261 applies
- ❌ TLV departure → EU261 does NOT apply (Israeli law applies)
London–TLV is ~3,600 km, qualifying for €600 if departing London.
How much can I claim from El Al?
- 🛫 Short flights (under 1,500 km) — €250
- 🛫 Medium flights (1,500–3,500 km) — €400
- 🛫 Long-haul (over 3,500 km) — €600
Clairo caps its estimate at €400 when both ends of the route are EU/EEA/UK airports, mirroring the intra-Community cap in Article 7(1)(b); it only estimates €600 where one end lies outside that area. Long UK–EU routes sit at the edge of that cap, so treat the figure as an estimate and check the position for your route.
Does EU261 apply to El Al flights?
EU261/2004 applies to El Al flights only when departing from an EU/EEA airport — for example, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt, Rome, or any other EU/EEA departure point. Flights from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion (TLV) to Europe are NOT covered by EU261 because El Al is an Israeli (non-EU) carrier and TLV is not an EU airport.
How much can I claim from El Al for a delay on a EU-departing flight?
EU261 distance bands are €250 for flights under 1,500 km, €400 for qualifying flights from 1,500–3,500 km, and €600 for qualifying flights over 3,500 km. The band follows the great-circle distance of your route: London–Tel Aviv is roughly 3,600 km, so it falls in the €600 band when the flight departs from an EU/EEA airport. Only the EU-departing direction is covered by EU261. Article 7(1)(b) sets €400 for intra-Community flights over 1,500 km, so the €600 band applies only where one end of the route lies outside that area; Clairo treats EU/EEA and UK airports as inside it, and long UK–EU routes sit at the edge of the cap.
What Israeli law protects passengers on flights from TLV?
Flights departing from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) are covered by Israeli aviation consumer protection regulations administered by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI). The rules are broadly similar to EU261 but administered separately. You can file complaints with the CAAI for delays departing Israel.
Do Shabbat or Jewish holidays affect an El Al claim?
El Al's published schedule does not include flights during Shabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday night) or certain Jewish holidays, so flights are not normally planned into those periods. The situation that arises in practice is a flight that is delayed enough to run into one, and is then postponed until the period ends. In that case the assessment looks at what caused the original delay and what the airline did about it, rather than at the observance itself, since the schedule constraint is known in advance and built into planning. For EU-departing flights EU261 continues to apply, so ask El Al for its written explanation of the original cause.
How long do I have to claim from El Al for an EU-departing flight?
The time limit is set by the law of the EU country you departed from, and it varies between jurisdictions and with the facts of the case. Check current official guidance for your departure country rather than relying on a general figure, and claim promptly so documentation is still available.
Common El Al delay reasons that qualify (EU departure)
- ✅ Aircraft technical fault
- ✅ Crew scheduling or late crew rotation
- ✅ Late inbound aircraft from TLV or another sector
- ✅ Ground handling delays at European airports
- ❌ Security-related delays (El Al has enhanced security — may qualify as extraordinary)
- ❌ Extreme weather at departure or destination
- ❌ Israeli airspace restrictions (e.g. regional conflict)
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