KLM Fined Over Luggage Dispute, Denied Boarding

A small claims court in Safed has ordered Dutch airline KLM to pay two passengers NIS 9,037 (approximately $2,400) in compensation and legal fees after they were denied boarding due to a luggage discrepancy. The passengers, Hodia Simcha Buzaglo, who was heavily pregnant, and Ayelet Dvora Cohen Fishbein, traveling with her infant, arrived at Montreal airport for their flight home via Amsterdam on December 24, 2025. They were informed at the check-in counter that one of them was only entitled to one checked bag, despite their tickets indicating two. Attempts to pay for the extra bag failed when their credit card payments did not go through, and the gate subsequently closed. The court ruled that the error in luggage registration was KLM's fault. The airline was ordered to pay NIS 7,837 in compensation and NIS 1,200 in legal expenses. The original claim sought NIS 20,839, including compensation for a lost bag and punitive damages, but these were rejected by the court.

KLM argued that the passengers arrived at the gate almost at closing time without proper travel documents and that the payment issue was with their credit cards, not the payment link. The airline also claimed that their staff tried to assist and delayed the gate closure as much as possible. They cited aviation law that exempts airlines from responsibility for passengers lacking proper documentation. KLM also stated that the alternative flight offered was a gesture of goodwill and did not create any rights for the passengers, and that punitive damages were unwarranted as there was no intentional violation.

Senior Registrar Yosef Pinian found the passengers' testimony credible and consistent, noting contradictions in KLM's own documentation. He pointed out that KLM failed to provide credit card company refusal reports, which would have substantiated their claim of payment failure. The court also considered the fact that KLM offered a free alternative flight immediately after the original flight departed as evidence that the airline acknowledged its mistake. The passengers, being religious, refused the alternative flight that would have landed on a Saturday. The court ruled that refusing a flight on religious grounds does not forfeit compensation rights.

The court rejected the claim for punitive damages, stating that such compensation is exceptional and intended for companies that knowingly violate the law. Given that the registration error also appeared with Delta, it was difficult to conclude that KLM knowingly denied the extra bag. The claim for NIS 7,342 for a lost bag was also dismissed, as the passengers had indicated Delta was responsible and the claim lacked specific details about the bag's contents or when it was lost. The final compensation awarded covers NIS 3,580 for each passenger and NIS 677 for documented expenses like food and travel to the airport.