An El Al flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv was forbidden refueling by a Turkish ground crew after it was forced to make an emergency landing to address the medical emergency of a passenger on board.
Workers at Antalya Airport refused the request by the captain of flight LY5102 after the sick traveler was evacuated to a local hospital.
As a result of the incident, the aircraft decided to travel to a Greek airport in Rhodes for a sufficient fuel load after reportedly being forced to wait on the tarmac in Turkey for several hours.
Israeli media reported that officials in Ankara assured the country’s foreign ministry that the aircrew’s request would be honored. However, due to fuel consumption from operating the Boeing 737's air conditioning and other systems on the ground, the pilot opted to fly to Greece to prevent any possibility of being unable to depart later.
The plane landed safely at Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday night.
Direct flights between Israel and Turkey were suspended shortly after the war with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza began.
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