Staff at Turkey’s Antalya airport refused to refuel an El Al flight which diverted into the airport with a medical emergency.
El Al flight LY5102 was operating from Warsaw to Tel Aviv when a passenger became and a doctor on board recommended an immediate diversion to the nearest airport which was Antalya in Turkey due to the diversion, the Boeing 737-800 required more fuel to continue its flight onto Tel Aviv.
No official reason has been given for the refusal to provide the fuel but Turkey has been openly critical of Israel’s campaign against Hamas and is of course, a predominantly Muslim country.
The aircraft (4X-EKA) was allowed to leave the airport and flew to Rhodes, the nearest airport outside of Turkey, where it will be able to refuel and continue to Tel Aviv at around 8pm this evening.
