An Israeli plane flew to Greece on Sunday after Turkey refused to provide it fuel following an emergency landing in Antalya.
El Al Flt. LY5102 was flying directly from Warsaw, Poland, to Tel Aviv in Israel in the morning when the airline said the plane had to land at Turkey’s Antalya International airport after a passenger fell ill, the Jerusalem Post said.
“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.
Israeli plane refused fuel in Turkey
Although the flight crew initially received permission to de-board and refuel, Turkish officials then delayed the decision, claiming permits were required to fuel the plane, Israeli broadcaster KAN reported.
After waiting, the flight crew was informed that they would not be allowed to do either, forcing the plane to fly off to Greece’s Rhodes airport to refuel, according to Israel’s Army Radio.
Flt. LY5102 then took off from Antalya at 6:18 p.m. local time, arriving in Greece less than 40 minutes later, according to flight tracking site Flight Aware.
“The flight crew was preparing for a renewed takeoff to Tel Aviv, but local workers refused to refuel the company’s plane, even though it was a medical case. The plane took off to Rhodes, where it will refuel before taking off to Israel,” El Al stated.
The status of the ill passenger remained unclear, and officials did not say if the passenger was allowed to get medical treatment while in Turkey.
Direct Israel-Turkey flights between have been canceled
All direct flights between Turkey and Israel have been canceled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
Turkey has remained one of Israel’s biggest critics over the war, with its government announcing in May that all exports and imports from Israel would be halted after the Israel Defense Force’s advancement into Rafah.
“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry said in a statement in early May.
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“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.
“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Katz posted on social media platform X.
Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.