Kuwait Airways bins New York-London flights after Israeli complaint

Kuwait Airways is scrapping flights between New York's JFK airport and London Heathrow after US authorities threatened legal action over its refusal to sell tickets to Israelis.

"Today, Kuwait Airways informed the US Department of Transportation that they will be eliminating service between JFK and London Heathrow," USA Today quoted US transport department spokeswoman Namrata Kolachalam as saying.

The department in September sent a letter to the airline warning it to end what it said amounted to discrimination. The department confirmed to AFP on Wednesday that state-owned Kuwait Airways had a day earlier informed authorities that it would eliminate the route.

Efforts to book a flight with the airline for later this month between the cities produced only an "Error Message".

The move comes after Kuwait Airways' booking system would not sell a ticket to Israeli citizen Eldad Gatt in 2013. 

Gatt filed an official discrimination complaint with the transport department, according to the Israeli news site Haaretz. The department initially ruled against Gatt, but Israeli authorities intervened to appeal the ruling.

The transport department then reversed its decision, ordering the airline to “cease and desist from refusing to transport Israeli citizens between the US and any third country where they are allowed to disembark”.

In response to US authorities, the airline said it was merely obeying Kuwaiti law prohibiting all commercial relations with Israeli entities, residents or nationals. 

A US lawyer representing Kuwait Airways said that US law does not authorise transport authorities to enforce consumer-protection provisions against the airlines, which "cannot lawfully comply with the terms", Haaretz reported.

The lawyer added that the airline did not discriminate based on religion, stressing that even a Muslim citizen of Israel would not legally be able to fly with Kuwait Airways.