Israel’s national carrier El Al said on Sunday its flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv was not allowed to refuel at Antalya airport after making an emergency landing to evacuate a passenger for medical reasons.
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 plane even though it was a medical incident,” it said, adding that the passenger was evacuated.
The plane then took off for Rhodes in Greece where it “will refuel before taking off to Israel,” the airline said.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated since the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, with all direct flights between the two countries canceled since then.
Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed the plane was allowed to make an emergency landing to evacuate a sick passenger.
“The plane was supposed to be fueled for humanitarian reasons, but as the related process was about to be completed, the captain decided to leave on his own,” a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel reported that the plane was on the tarmac in Antalya for several hours before taking off for Rhodes.
Read: Erdogan accuses the West of supporting Israel’s plans to spread the war
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and has often expressed his support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas as defenders of their homeland.
Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, among others.
The Israel-Hamas war erupted after an October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel that killed 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,877 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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