El Al, Israel's national airline, reported on Sunday that its flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv was not permitted to refuel at Antalya airport, Turkey, after making an emergency landing to evacuate a passenger needing medical attention, according to Agence France-Presse.
Turkish workers at Antalya airport refused to refuel flight LY5102 before it could continue to Israel's, El Al stated. "Local workers refused to refuel the company’s plane even though it was a medical case," the statement read, noting that the passenger was successfully evacuated.
The plane then proceeded to Rhodes, Greece, where it planned to refuel before continuing to Israel.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have been strained since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on October 7, leading to the cancellation of all direct flights between the two nations.
Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed that the plane was allowed to make an emergency landing to evacuate the sick passenger. "Fuel was to be provided to the plane due to humanitarian considerations, but as the relevant procedure was about to be completed, the captain decided to leave of his own accord," a Turkish diplomatic source said.
The Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel reported that the plane remained on the tarmac in Antalya for several hours before departing for Rhodes. Hebrew media indicated that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had been assured by Turkish authorities that the plane would be allowed to refuel, but this did not materialize. Given that the plane was burning fuel to keep air conditioning and other systems running, it was decided to take off for Rhodes, a 40-minute flight, to refuel there before the remaining fuel was insufficient for even that short journey.
The plane was expected to land at Ben-Gurion Airport later on Sunday.
Passengers were informed that they would spend several hours on the ground in Turkey without permission to leave the plane, according to Hebrew media reports.
All direct flights between Israel and Turkey were canceled shortly after the conflict with the Hamas terror group began on October 7. This conflict saw thousands of terrorists invade southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the taking of 251 hostages.
In May, Turkey halted all trade with Israel, a significant move given that Turkey is Israel’s fifth-largest source of imported goods, a decision expected to lead to price increases in Israel at least in the short term.
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