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Israeli plane grounded in Russia overnight

Hundreds of passengers spend night at airport after authorities demand unnecessary visas from crew

A bureaucratic mistake made by the Russian authorities grounded 260 Israeli passengers Monday night, among them a number of senior citizens recently returned from a guided tour of the capital.

 

The Arkia passengers spent the night at the Moscow airport and only an extreme step taken by the Airports Authority – namely the grounding of a Russian plane at Ben-Gurion International Airport – convinced the Russian authorities to let the flight leave.

  

The plane was scheduled to take off at 7 pm Monday evening, with 260 passengers in tow. However, just moments before takeoff Russian clerks asked to see the crew's visas.

 

The stunned crew, made up of three pilots and six stewards, tried to explain that Israel and Russia had signed an agreement making visas defunct over a year ago, but the officials were unconvinced and grounded the plane.

 

Arkia immediately employed the assistance of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, but to no avail. "Although everyone agreed that it was a mistake, they just told us to come back at 8 am to solve the problem," the airline's deputy CEO, Nir Dagan, told Ynet. "It was unacceptable to us."

 

Late that night, in a rare move to pressure the Russian authorities, the Airports Authority in Israel decided to ground a Trans Euro flight bound for Russia until the Arkia plane was allowed to take off. The Russian officials capitulated around 4 am, and the plane made its way back to Israel early Tuesday morning.

 

Yariv Eisenberg, whose parents were passengers on the delayed flight, said they had spent the night without food or drink at the Russian airport. "They had no local money left and they are elderly, no longer young and healthy, and they sounded very stressed and exhausted. My father has a blood pressure problem and they were very concerned," he told Ynet.

 

He said that at first the airline had offered them a night at a nearby hotel, but when it became clear the flight would depart late at night they were asked to remain at the airport.

 

An Israeli official told Ynet it was not the first time the Russian authorities had created difficulties for Israeli flights. "The Russians have a problem opening the Russia-Israel line for other companies as well, which hurts many Russian airlines," he said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.11.10, 09:43
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