https://worldisraelnews.com/vile-turkey-refuses-to-refuel-israeli-plane-after-emergency-landing/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=%E2%80%98Vile%E2%80%99+Country+Refuses+to+R
Human rights lawyer calls incident “outrageous, gross violation” of international law.
Turkish authorities refused to allow an Israeli plane to refuel in order to reach its final destination after it made an emergency landing in Antalya, likely violating international aviation law and effectively trapping the plane on Turkish soil for hours.
The drama began when a passenger suffered a medical emergency aboard an El Al flight bound for Tel Aviv, which had departed from Warsaw, Poland on Sunday morning.
“After consulting with the doctor who treated the passenger on the plane, it was decided that it should land urgently in order to evacuate the passenger to the hospital as soon as possible,” El Al said in a statement.
Because the passenger needed immediate medical attention, the plane was forced to divert and make a landing at the nearest airport, Antalya Airport in southwest Turkey.
But despite receiving permission for the landing, it was clear that Turkish authorities saw the arrival of the El Al plane as an opportunity to lash out against Israel.
Turkish airport authorities refused to allow the plane to refuel, when it needed to do so in order to continue to Tel Aviv.
Passengers were not given permission to leave the plane, and were forced to sit for hours on the tarmac while the El Al captain and crew attempted to obtain fuel for the flight.