Israeli Passengers Seize Blue Bird Plane Equipment in Dutch Court Over Flight Cancellation Dispute

Twenty-eight Israeli passengers filed a lawsuit against Blue Bird Airways and its owner, Kavim Hofesh, seeking approximately 550,000 shekels in compensation after their flight from Tel Aviv to Budapest was canceled. The incident began nearly two years ago at Ben Gurion Airport, where the passengers waited for hours at an unattended Blue Bird counter and only saw a company representative accompanied by a police officer. The passengers claim they were not informed of any flight delay or cancellation and only learned of the cancellation late in the day due to a technical fault with the aircraft.

After unsuccessful attempts to receive compensation, the passengers took an unusual legal step last month by petitioning a Dutch court. On July 1, 2026, the District Court of North Holland issued a temporary seizure order on Blue Bird's movable assets in the Netherlands, including aircraft fuel and navigation charts, valued at about 149,000 euros. This seizure threatened to ground a Blue Bird flight scheduled to depart from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to Israel on July 8, 2026. The seizure was lifted after Kavim Hofesh deposited 500,000 shekels in escrow with the passengers' legal representatives, allowing the plane to take off.

The passengers' lawsuit, filed in July 2026, alleges that Blue Bird failed to provide proper service and compensation after the flight cancellation. Their attorneys, including Dr. and Adv. Gideon Fisher and Adv. Yaniv Nisenholtz, emphasized the international cooperation that led to the Dutch court's seizure order. Blue Bird responded that the flight cancellation was due to a technical issue, that full refunds and alternative flights were offered, and accused the passengers of misleading the Dutch court. Blue Bird announced plans to file a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the passengers for allegedly deceiving the court.

The legal battle continues in Israel, with Blue Bird yet to submit a formal defense. The Dutch court required the passengers to file their claim within 14 days of the seizure order, but no such claim has been filed yet. The case highlights the escalating dispute between the passengers and Blue Bird over compensation and service failures following the canceled flight.