Israel’s national airline El Al said on Monday that a flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Antalya, Turkey on Sunday.
Due to tensions between Turkey and Israel, Turkish airport officials refused to refuel the plane and refused to disembark any passengers other than those needing medical assistance.
El Al Flight LY5102 was on a three-hour flight from Warsaw, Poland to Tel Aviv, Israel when the aircraft crashed. Declared In-flight emergency. Airplane Landed on the advice of doctors who were treating injured passengers at Antalya airport.
plane The remaining The plane remained on the ground for several hours while sick passengers were evacuated to hospitals, during which time no one on board was allowed outside. The plane’s engines remained shut down. running Providing power and air conditioning all that time has significantly depleted fuel reserves.
El Al said Turkish airport officials “refused to refuel the plane despite the medical issue.” Once the medical emergency was dealt with, the plane made a 40-minute flight to the Greek island of Rhodes, landed again to refuel, and then flew to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport later on Sunday.
Turkish authorities dispute this account, saying it was the El Al captain’s decision to refuse refuelling at Antalya airport.
“Fuel was due to be supplied to the plane for humanitarian reasons, but the captain decided to leave voluntarily just before the relevant procedures were completed,” a Turkish diplomatic source said. Said The French Presse (AFP) reported on Monday.
Israeli national television station KAN In dispute Turkish diplomats claim that the crew was initially told they would be allowed to disembark and refuel the plane, but then Turkish authorities rescinded both permissions because “permission” was needed to refuel the plane.
Neither Turkish Airlines nor El Al have provided details about the passengers’ medical conditions, health status or current whereabouts.
Before the Gaza War, Turkey was a popular tourist destination for Israelis, with numerous direct flights operating daily between Tel Aviv and Istanbul, which was also a convenient hub for flights from Israel to the rest of the world.
These flights are cancel After Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians on October 7 and the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an open supporter of Hamas, harshly criticized Israel’s response, Turkish Airlines said in April that it would not resume flights to Israel until March 2025 at the earliest.
