German Court: Kuwait Airlines Can’t Be Forced To Carry Israeli Passenger
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) – A German court ruled on Tuesday that Kuwait Airways could not be forced to carry an Israeli passenger who had bought a ticket from Germany to Thailand, upholding a lower court decision that had angered German officials and Jewish groups.
The higher court in Frankfurt said a Kuwaiti ban on Israeli citizens was “unacceptable and irrelevant” in Germany. But it was impossible in practice for the airline to carry the man, because Kuwaiti law would have prevented him from changing planes in Kuwait.
“As Israelis in practice are not allowed to enter the transit areas of Kuwait’s airport, the plaintiff cannot demand transportation by the Kuwaiti airline from Frankfurt to Bangkok with a stopover in Kuwait.”
The plaintiff in the case, an Israeli man who was denied boarding on a flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok via Kuwait, had argued that the lower court’s decision accepted a racist Kuwaiti law and allowed the airline to override German laws.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
