Kuwait Airways drops New York to London flight route to avoid flying Israeli passengers
- 8 years ago
KUWAIT CITY — Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face.
Kuwait Airways has dropped its New York to London service, apparently so that it can avoid having to serve the occasional Israeli passport holder who for some unfathomable reason wants to fly the Israel-hating country's airline.
The move appears to be related to threatened administrative or judicial action against the airline by the U.S. government related to the case of Eldad Gatt.
Gatt is an Israeli citizen who in 2013 found that he could not buy a ticket online from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London's Heathrow on Kuwait Airways if he listed Israel as his passport issuer.
He filed a complaint, and in September of this year the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that Kuwait Airways had "unlawfully discriminated" against him.
According to the Economist, the Department of Transportation has gave the airline 15 days to respond and find a solution to comply with U.S. anti-discrimination law.
"They should show some gratitude that they even have their dictatorial little half-assed country," Queens Councilman Rory Lancman told the New York Post, referring to the fact that Jewish soldiers helped the United States liberate Kuwait in the early 1990s after it was invaded by Iraq.
But Kuwait Airways is not itself responsible for the ban on serving Israelis and could face penalties from its own government if it doesn't comply.
As is the case with many other Muslim countries, including Iran, the United Arabs Emirates, Oman, Indonesia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, Israelis are not allowed to enter Kuwait, and trading with them is prohibited by the law.
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Kuwait Airways has dropped its New York to London service, apparently so that it can avoid having to serve the occasional Israeli passport holder who for some unfathomable reason wants to fly the Israel-hating country's airline.
The move appears to be related to threatened administrative or judicial action against the airline by the U.S. government related to the case of Eldad Gatt.
Gatt is an Israeli citizen who in 2013 found that he could not buy a ticket online from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London's Heathrow on Kuwait Airways if he listed Israel as his passport issuer.
He filed a complaint, and in September of this year the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that Kuwait Airways had "unlawfully discriminated" against him.
According to the Economist, the Department of Transportation has gave the airline 15 days to respond and find a solution to comply with U.S. anti-discrimination law.
"They should show some gratitude that they even have their dictatorial little half-assed country," Queens Councilman Rory Lancman told the New York Post, referring to the fact that Jewish soldiers helped the United States liberate Kuwait in the early 1990s after it was invaded by Iraq.
But Kuwait Airways is not itself responsible for the ban on serving Israelis and could face penalties from its own government if it doesn't comply.
As is the case with many other Muslim countries, including Iran, the United Arabs Emirates, Oman, Indonesia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, Israelis are not allowed to enter Kuwait, and trading with them is prohibited by the law.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
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Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus