KUWAIT: An Israeli citizen living in Switzerland has filed a complaint against Kuwait Airways (KAC) for discrimination. The Israeli citizen had wanted to fly from Geneva to Frankfurt with Kuwait Airways.

This is the second complaint by an Israeli citizen against Kuwait’s national carrier over its policy of refusing Israelis access to KAC flights.

The policy is based on Kuwait’s law which prohibits all domestic companies from conducting business with Israeli citizens. This includes KAC flights between third countries.

In this case, the Israeli citizen, resident in Geneva, claimed that he was denied access to a seat on a Kuwait Airways flight from Geneva to Frankfurt.

In December of last year, KAC canceled flights between London and New York after an Israeli citizen filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation alleging discrimination based on nationality.

The man, Eldad Gatt, was unable to book a flight from New York City to Heathrow on Kuwait Airways because the airline’s booking site would not process the transaction with the nationality option for Israel.

The pro-Israel organization The Lawfare Project which attempts to counter all BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) efforts first publicized the issue and was a central player in the earlier suit against KAC.

Flights to or via Kuwait are not affected because Kuwait law does not allow Israeli citizens visas for entry or transit. However it’s possible that other KAC flights in Europe not routed through Kuwait may be targeted for similar complaints.

Kuwait Airways’ Geneva director John Fernandini denied any knowledge of this particular case but added that the airline has imposed such rules for security reasons. He also added that Kuwaitis are not allowed to fly with Israel’s national airline El Al.

- Info from swissinfo. ch and agencies were used in this report.