Turkish airport workers refuse to refuel El Al plane after emergency landing
Flight makes emergency landing in Antalya to get passenger medical attention, is forced to fly to Rhodes to refuel before heading to Tel Aviv
An El Al flight from Warsaw en route to Tel Aviv was not allowed to refuel after making an emergency landing in Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday to evacuate a passenger in need of medical attention.
Turkish workers at Antalya airport refused to refuel flight LY5102 before it could take off for Israel, El Al said in a statement.
“Local workers refused to refuel the company’s plane, even though it was a medical case,” it said, adding that the passenger was evacuated.
The plane then took off to Rhodes in Greece, where “it will refuel before taking off to Israel,” the airline said.
Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed the plane was allowed to make an emergency landing to evacuate a sick passenger.
“Fuel was to be provided to the plane due to humanitarian considerations, but as the relevant procedure was about to be completed, the captain decided to leave of his own accord,” a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Hebrew media reports said the Foreign Ministry had been assured by the Turkish authorities that the plane would be allowed to refuel, but in practice, it did not happen. Since the plane was burning fuel on the tarmac to keep air conditioning and other systems functioning, it was decided to take off for Rhodes, a 40-minute flight away, and refuel there, before even that short flight became impossible.
The plane was expected to land at Ben-Gurion Airport later Sunday.
Passengers were told that they were expected to spend several hours on the ground in Turkey, without permission to leave the plane, according to Hebrew media reports.
All direct flights between Israel and Turkey were canceled shortly after the war against the Hamas terror group broke out on October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has backed Hamas in the war, in which Israel has sought to topple Hamas as Gaza’s de facto government, to secure the release of the hostages taken on October 7, and to prevent the Gaza Strip from posing a security threat to Israel going forward.
Erdogan hosted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul in April, and in May, he said that more than 1,000 members of Hamas were being treated in Turkish hospitals.
In May, Turkey cut off all trade with Israel — a dramatic move for Israel’s fifth-largest source of imported goods, and one that was expected to result in price increases in Israel, at least in the short term.
AFP contributed to this report.
ByAkash Pandey
Jun 30, 2024
The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) has accused the airline of unfair labor practices, including issuing charge sheets to its members.The union has sought intervention from the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central), detailing their grievances in a letter.The allegations surface amid ongoing conciliation proceedings between cabin crew members and airline management.The AIXEU claims that these actions are damaging industrial relations, already strained by "unfair labor practices and violations of labor legislation."
Union claims charge sheets issued to sick leave takers
The AIXEU alleges that charge sheets have been issued to cabin crew members who took sick leave from May 6-8.The union also claims an inquiry is being initiated against select union members.This follows a strike on May 7, where approximately 200 cabin crew members protested against alleged mismanagement at Air India Express, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and the termination of services for 25 cabin crew members.
Strike called off following conciliation meeting
The strike was called off on May 9 after a conciliation meeting between union representatives and management, convened by the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central).The termination letters issued to the cabin crew were subsequently withdrawn by Tata Group-owned Air India Express.In their June 28 letter, the union attributed these issues to "the monopoly and adamancy behaviour of the management" and requested further intervention from Chief Labor Commissioner (Central).Air India Express has not yet commented on these allegations.
Picture used for illustrative purposes.
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
The Emirates Group has approved an increase in employees’ salaries and allowances by 4%, starting from July 2024, according to statements issued by the Airline’s top officials.
The decision comes after Emirates provided a bonus to its employees equivalent to 20 weeks’ salary, after the record financial results it achieved during its fiscal year 2023 - 2024.
Emirates Airlines and Dnata have more than 112,000 employees, of 160 nationalities, in all areas of their operations, especially in Dubai.
A letter to employees in Dubai, seen by Gulf Today, said that the Emirates Airlines Group will implement many changes after reviewing wages and benefits for the year 2024, starting in July 2024.
A spokesman for the group told Gulf Today that the review comes within the framework of reviewing the costs of living, which is a commitment by the group to support employees, and with the aim of making the carrier the preferred employer in the aviation sector.
The changes include a 4% increase in the basic salary, a 4% increase in transportation allowances and special allowances for UAE citizens, in addition to a 4% increase in working hours for flight crews from July 1.
The benefits also include increases ranging from 10 to 15% in sustenance and lodging allowances, and details of the new basic salary and fixed allowances will appear with the contractual amendment letter on July 22, 2024.
As for the benefits, they included increasing the duration of paid maternity leave from 60 to 90 days, increasing the paid nursing break period for new mothers from one to two hours per day, and increasing the duration of paid paternity leave from 5 to 10 working days.
The benefits also include a 10% increase in the education support allowance, effective September 1, 2024.
