Kuwait Air to End New York Service Over Refusal to Carry Israelis
Kuwait Airways Image by Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON — Kuwait Air is ending its New York to London service over the carrier’s refusal to carry Israeli passengers.
“The U.S. Department of Transportation will not tolerate unlawful discrimination, and has mandated that the airline immediately cease that practice and allow Israeli passengers to travel between the U.S. and London,” Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary, said in a statement on Friday. “In light of our demands, Kuwait Airways has chosen to cease passenger service from New York JFK airport to London Heathrow by January 18.”
The department had informed Kuwait Air in September that its policies were in violation of U.S. law. The determination came after a complaint by Eldad Gatt, an Israeli citizen who in 2013 wanted to travel on an Israeli passport from New York to London.
In October, Kuwait Air responded to the department saying that Kuwaiti law banned the transport of Israeli citizens and argued that implementing that policy in the United States did not violate U.S. law.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
