mgiarc

The ticket was a return and I don't think we got the full story about the return sector.

Re. the legal position, read this, in particular sections 9 and 13: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

This has nothing to do with international law and everything to do with unlawful discrimination, based on a protected characteristic, in the provision of goods and services.

If this were a flight to KWI and an Israeli citizen would be denied entry on arrival, then discrimination in denying boarding would be directly on the basis of immigration status in Kuwait and only indirectly on nationality. In the case of indirect discrimination, see section 19(2)(d) which permits indirect discrimination where it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim - here avoiding the inevitable cost of having to return the passenger to London or elsewhere when she is refused entry.

Anticipating your next riposte, see section 3 of the State Immunity Act 1978, which excludes from the protection of state immunity, were it otherwise to exist, proceedings relating to commercial contracts.

Tchiowa

The OP was denied boarding in the US, not the UK, and the denial was based on lack of valid travel documents. Nothing to do with the person. You simply can't get past that.

gglave

and the denial was based on lack of valid travel documents anti-Semitic policies of the operating airline.

There, I fixed that for you.

YuropFlyer

and the denial was based on lack of valid travel documents anti-Semitic anti-israel policies of the operating airline.

Your fix wasn't correct, I've fixed it properly.

They will fly any Jews. They just won't fly anyone with an Israeli passport, be he jewish, christian, atheist or muslim.

GUWonder

Non-Jewish, non-Semitic Israelis have been denied travel by this airline when the only government-issued international travel doc being held by such persons is an Israeli passport.

Apparently the policy and practice is best defined as "anti-Israeli" -- rather than anti-Semitic -- since it deliberately hits Israelis whether or not such persons be Jewish and/or Semites. Semitic Israeli Muslims get denied travel when using just Israeli passports. Non-Semitic Israeli Chrisitians also get denied travel when using just Israeli passports.

It's a discriminatory policy, one based on travel documentation and issuer of the travel doc rather than one based on ethnicity and/or religion.

Tchiowa

Yes. That point has been made by many people. Didn't do any good before, but nice try.

Yes. And the airline didn't invent the policy. Their government did. And that type of "discrimination" is not covered in the various EU and UK laws that posters keep coming up with.

If someone tried to board Iberia Air using a passport from "Catalonia" does anyone think they would accept it?

sethb

Do the origin and destination countries recognize Catalonian passports?

gglave

[deleted]

GUWonder

The US doesn't allow many foreign passports users to travel on US airlines even when the origin and destination country are willing to admit the person with such foreign passports.

It seems like all or nearly all countries and all international-flying common carriers engage in some type of passport-related discrimination even when the origin and destination countries recognize the passports for admissibility purposes.

84fiero

Good luck trying to enter the USA with one of these:

gglave

To equate joke novelty tourist Key West passports to a passport held by an Israeli citizen is pretty insulting.

84fiero

I guess I missed the part where I said any such thing. Perhaps because I didn't.

Tchiowa

While it was clearly an attempt at humor, nonetheless the Kuwait government view an Israelis passport the same way: A joke. Completely invalid. I don't agree, but I'm not in charge.

GUWonder

The Kuwaiti government has accepted Israeli passports as evidence of identity and allowed people entry into Kuwait with Israeli passports if the passport holder was provided a Kuwaiti government waiver or bypass in one form or another. Apparently, it's not taken as a "joke" and as "completely invalid" under all circumstances.