Israeli passengers incensed after being directed to 'Palestine flight'

Israeli passengers flying from Belgrade to Tel Aviv were up in arms after an airport announcer described their flight's destination as Palestine.

Narrated

3 min read

Taufiq Wan

07 Sep, 2016

A plane takes flight from Belgrade Airport [AFP]

Israeli travellers flying from Belgrade to Tel Aviv were outraged after an airport announcer advised on multiple occasions that passengers "on the flight to Palestine" should head to gate C3, it emerged Tuesday.

When passengers confronted airport staff about the blunder, a second worker further enraged the indignant Israelis by saying that the Air Serbia flight was "to Tel Aviv, not to Israel," the Israeli Ynet news website reported.

"I couldn't believe my ears," an Israeli passenger told Ynet. "The first time, I thought I hadn't heard right and I asked a few other passengers if the announcement had really said Palestine. They said I wasn't mistaken."

"I went to the company's counter and another guy from Rosh Pina joined me and we asked that they announce again that the flight is to Israel and not to Palestine." This staff member then made the assertion that the flight was for Tel Aviv, "not Israel."

Following this, the passenger threatened not to board the flight until three correct annoncements were made. The airport authorities complied after quick discussions.

Top priority

Although some may have easily forgiven the mistake made by the groundstaff at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, the outrage felt by the Israelis travelling on August 31 reverberated all the way to their Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

"It is unimaginable that an airport official with a microphone would distort reality like this in such a provocative and false manner," said ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachson. "The Israeli Embassy [in Belgrade] will give the matter top priority".

Israel's ambassador to Serbia, Alona Fisher, also weighed in on the matter by contacting Air Serbia's director general.

According to Fisher, the company head "reacted with shock" and profusely assured the Israeli envoy that the mistakes were in no way representative of the airline's views.

The Air Serbia boss also contacted the Israeli Embassy to reassure the foreign mission that the announcement had been made by an airport staffer, who he had asked for action to be taken against.

A spokesperson for the airline also told The Times of Israel the that the company was "aware of the reports of an incorrect airport announcement being made in Belgrade and have asked the airport to look into the matter".

Flights to Palestine?

Airports in the Palestinian Territories are currently disused and defunct - with Israel having done much to ensure that this is the case.

Gaza's Yasser Arafat Airport, for instance, cecased operations less than two years from opening, after an Israeli attack destroyed its radar station and control tower in October 1998. Israeli bulldozers later cut the runway apart, ensuring the end of the fledgling travel hub.

The destruction of the airport, which was constructed as part of the Oslo II Agreement of 1995, was strongly condemned by the International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] as a violation of the UN Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation.

In the West Bank, Qalandia Airport was closed to civilian traffic in October 2000, and in turn handed over to the Israeli Defence Forces in 2001. The airport would later be claimed by Israel on maps presented during the 2000 Camp David Summit.

At present, travellers wishing to visit Palestinian territories often fly to Israel or Jordan, where their journey is continued by land to the Israeli-controlled borders.

This has made travel in and out of the West Bank difficult, and in the case of Gaza near impossible.