Summary
- Following a medical emergency, an EL AL Boeing 737-800 was forced to divert to Antalya, Turkey, where a passeneger disembarked to seek treatment.
- However, local ground handling workers refused to refuel the aircraft, forcing the pilots to fly to Rhodes, Greece, before the aircraft was able to return to Israel.
- Tensions have been running high between Turkey and Israel due to the regional geopolitical situation, including the war in Gaza.
After an EL AL Boeing 737-800 had diverted to Antalya, Turkey, ground handling workers at the airport reportedly refused to refuel the Israeli airline’s aircraft, which had to fly to Rhodes, Greece, before it eventually arrived at Tel Aviv, where it has continued to fly from on the following day.
Refusing to refuel
According to a report by the Times of Israel, the aircraft, a 737-800 Next Generation (NG), registered as 4X-EKA, was operating the regularly scheduled EL AL flight LY5102 between Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) on June 30, 2024.
However, as it was overflying Turkey on its journey, the aircraft was forced to divert to Antalya Airport (AYT) due to a reported medical emergency. In a statement, an EL AL spokesperson confirmed that following an onboard medical emergency, a passenger disembarked the aircraft to seek treatment.
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While the pilots prepared for takeoff from AYT, local ground handling workers refused to refuel the aircraft despite the medical emergency that had forced the EL AL aircraft to land at the Turkish airport. As a result, the aircraft took off and landed at Rhodes International Airport (RHO), where it was refueled before it continued its journey to TLV.
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The airline was expected to return to Israel later this year.
Tensions between Israel and Turkey
Ever since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, where thousands of civilians have lost their lives on both sides, tensions have been running high in the Middle East, including between Israel and Turkey. On April 9, the Turkish Ministry of Trade (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Ticaret Bakanlığı) announced that imposed export restrictions on 54 product groups to Israel, reiterating that Turkey has not allowed the sales of dual-use products for a long time.
“This decision will remain in force until Israel, within the framework of its obligations arising from international law, declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and allows a sufficient and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
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Meanwhile, direct flights between the two countries have largely stopped since October 2023, with some airlines scheduling flights from Israel to Turkey in November and December 2023, as well as between January and March. Israeli airlines resumed direct flights to Turkey in February 2023.
However, while in October 2023, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, EL AL, Arkia, and Israir had scheduled flights between the two countries, in the following two months, only EL AL and Israir placed itineraries on routes from Israel to Turkey. By January, only Israir had proceeded to operate two weekly flights, which eventually ended in April.
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Impacting EL AL
Still, EL AL’s Q1 2024 results showed that the airline’s available seat kilometers (ASK), measuring capacity, load factors, and revenue had grown year-on-year (YoY), with growth of 15%, 9%, and 47.5%, respectively. As a result, even if it ended Q1 2023 with a pre-tax loss of $26 million, in Q1 2024, the airline’s pre-tax profit was $100 million.
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According to its investor presentation, improving cargo yields, passenger revenue, driven by higher load factors, and flight activity led to the improvement. The Israeli airline added that strong demand had continued into Q2, which ended on June 30. During the latter quarter, EL AL also announced that it chose the Boeing 737 MAX to renew and grow its fleet of narrowbody aircraft.
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