An Arkia flight from Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, to Israel, scheduled to depart Sunday at 8 p.m., turned into a long night of waiting and bus rides between Montenegro and Albania. The plane that was supposed to arrive from Tel Aviv was not allowed to land in Podgorica and was diverted to Tirana, forcing passengers on the return flight to travel there by bus.
Most of the passengers departed for Israel in the early morning hours, but about 50 were left behind after the last bus carrying them was delayed en route. They were taken to a hotel near the airport and later returned to Israel on a special flight, according to Arkia.
"It's an absolute nightmare," one passenger on the return flight told ynet, sharply criticizing the airline's handling of the situation overnight.
According to the passenger, the disruptions began in the evening, when the scheduled departure from Podgorica was first pushed back from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. and later to 10 p.m. It then became clear that the plane scheduled to operate the return flight had not landed in Montenegro at all.
Arkia explained that the plane had departed Tel Aviv for Podgorica, but while it was already en route, the local airport informed the airline of an "operational issue concerning the operation of the specific aircraft at the destination airport." As a result, the plane could not land in Podgorica and was diverted to Tirana, the capital of Albania.
The change led to an unusual transfer operation between the two countries: Passengers who landed in Tirana were bused to Montenegro, while passengers on the return flight to Israel made the opposite journey — from Podgorica to Tirana — to board the plane there.
"The passengers who landed in Albania were taken by bus to Montenegro, while all of us, the passengers on the plane, were taken by bus to Albania," the passenger said. According to him, boarding began in Tirana at around 5 a.m., while they were still waiting for the final bus from Montenegro to arrive.
Podgorica Airport, Montenegro
(Photo: Adam Radosavljevic / shutterstock)
One passenger who was on the last bus told ynet that the delay was caused by a confrontation at the border. According to his account, an Israeli passenger responded to a Montenegrin border police officer, who then forcibly detained her.
"He twisted her arm and dragged her to the police station," he alleged. The passenger said a relative tried to intervene, causing the incident to escalate, and the bus was delayed by about an hour and a half as a result.
Arkia gave a different account of the confrontation, saying the company was still investigating the incident. According to the airline, "violence was committed by one of the passengers against an official representative of the local border control authorities during the incident, and as a result, the passenger was detained by local police."
The company said the delay prevented the bus from reaching the flight on time and that waiting any longer would have caused the flight crew to exceed its permitted operating hours, potentially resulting in the cancellation of the entire flight.
The roughly 50 passengers left behind were taken to a hotel near Tirana's airport. Israel Muskal, who was among the group, told ynet earlier that morning that the passengers still did not know when they would be able to return to Israel.
Tirana, capital of Albania
(Photo: shutterstock)
"The Israelis here are completely lost," he said.
Arkia later said its local representative arranged for the passengers to be taken to hotels and provided breakfast. The company then sent a special plane to bring them back to Israel.
One passenger on the flight that departed in the early morning hours sharply criticized the company's handling of the situation overnight.
"No one from Arkia contacted us. They didn't provide updates, food or drinks," he said. He added that even the company representative who was at the airport was unable to provide answers.
Arkia said in a statement: "Arkia is still investigating the incident. Based on the information received so far, violence was committed by one of the passengers against an official representative of the local border control authorities during the incident, and as a result, the passenger was detained by local police.
"Arkia acted in accordance with procedures and immediately updated the local Israeli representatives and local authorities. The incident caused a significant delay in the departure of the last bus to the airport. Waiting any longer would have caused the flight crew to exceed its permitted operating hours and resulted in the cancellation of the entire flight, which would have left all passengers at the destination. The other four buses reached the airport, their passengers completed the security and border control procedures, and the flight departed for Israel.
"An Arkia representative waited for the passengers at the airport, arranged for them to be taken to hotels and provided breakfast. The company subsequently dispatched a special plane that returned them to Israel."