Central District Court in Lod is expected to review a proposed settlement in a class action against El Al that would pay eligible former customers about 50 million shekels. The case has been pending for 13 years and concerns shipments purchased 26 years ago, with the alleged conduct dating to the early 2000s.
According to the amended settlement request, El Al would compensate class members for claims that air cargo prices were coordinated, especially fuel and security surcharges, as part of a broader global cartel. The lawsuit, filed in 2013 by the Public Service Association for a Fair Society, also named additional defendants. El Al denied in 2014 that it had joined the alleged restrictive arrangement, saying Israeli and foreign investigators had examined the claims and chose not to bring proceedings against it. In 2020, the court approved the case as a class action.
The class includes El Al customers who bought shipping services directly or through freight forwarders to and from Israel, excluding the United States, between January 1, 2000 and February 14, 2006. Under the proposed deal, El Al would pay 50 million shekels in compensation, and its total outlay in the case, including compensation, the plaintiff’s fee and legal fees, would be about 59.9 million shekels.
The money would not be paid directly to claimants. It would be deposited in a trust account and distributed by a court-appointed special administrator. Any remaining balance, for example from unlocated or unclaimed beneficiaries, would not return to El Al, but would be transferred to the Justice Ministry’s fund for distributing court-awarded funds, for public projects tied to rehabilitation of communities near the Gaza border. The settlement request was filed on June 9, objections may be submitted until September 14, 2026, and the deal still needs final court approval to take effect. The agreement includes no admission of liability by either side.
