Huge lawsuit against Lastminute: They're taking a cancellation fee

Three customers of the travel website Lastminute claim the company deducted handling fees from refunds for cancelled flights, contrary to a Supreme Court ruling. They are asking the court to approve a class action against the company for more than 2.5 million shekels. The request was filed after the Supreme Court ruled that travel agencies are not permitted to deduct handling fees from certain refunds.

Three customers of the travel website Lastminute have filed a request to approve a class action against the company, alleging it deducted handling fees from refunds for cancelled flights, contrary to a Supreme Court ruling. The request was filed through attorneys from the Rapaport, Levin Biton law firm, and the claim amount is estimated at more than 2.5 million shekels. According to the request, one customer purchased two flight tickets to Budapest for 1,438 shekels. After the flight was cancelled amid the war with Iran, she was told the refund would be made with a 30-dollar deduction per ticket, and in practice she received only 1,243 shekels. In another case, a customer who purchased six Israir flight tickets to Dusseldorf for 10,161 shekels received notice that the flight was cancelled, and a handling fee of 39 dollars per ticket was deducted. A third customer purchased five tickets for the same Dusseldorf flight for a sum exceeding 7,000 shekels, and a handling fee of 195 dollars was deducted. The request comes after the Supreme Court ruled on October 5, 2026, in proceedings against Issta, that travel agencies are not permitted to deduct handling fees from a refund received from an airline for a cancelled flight, when the passenger is entitled to a refund under the Aviation Services Law. The requested group includes customers who were entitled to a refund or compensation under the law, but had handling fees deducted, starting from the four and a half years preceding the filing of the request. Lastminute said in response: "The lawsuit has not yet been received by the company; when it is received we will study it and examine the legal options available to us."