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A bureaucratic mistake made by the Russian authorities grounded 260 Israeli passengers Monday night, among them a number of senior citizens recently returned from a guided tour of the capital.
The Arkia passengers spent the night at the Moscow airport and only an extreme step taken by the Airports Authority – namely the grounding of a Russian plane at Ben-Gurion International Airport – convinced the Russian authorities to let the flight leave.
The plane was scheduled to take off at 7 pm Monday evening, with 260 passengers in tow. However, just moments before takeoff Russian clerks asked to see the crew's visas.
The stunned crew, made up of three pilots and six stewards, tried to explain that Israel and Russia had signed an agreement making visas defunct over a year ago, but the officials were unconvinced and grounded the plane.
Arkia immediately employed the assistance of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, but to no avail. "Although everyone agreed that it was a mistake, they just told us to come back at 8 am to solve the problem," the airline's deputy CEO, Nir Dagan, told Ynet. "It was unacceptable to us."
Late that night, in a rare move to pressure the Russian authorities, the Airports Authority in Israel decided to ground a Trans Euro flight bound for Russia until the Arkia plane was allowed to take off. The Russian officials capitulated around 4 am, and the plane made its way back to Israel early Tuesday morning.
Yariv Eisenberg, whose parents were passengers on the delayed flight, said they had spent the night without food or drink at the Russian airport. "They had no local money left and they are elderly, no longer young and healthy, and they sounded very stressed and exhausted. My father has a blood pressure problem and they were very concerned," he told Ynet.
He said that at first the airline had offered them a night at a nearby hotel, but when it became clear the flight would depart late at night they were asked to remain at the airport.
An Israeli official told Ynet it was not the first time the Russian authorities had created difficulties for Israeli flights. "The Russians have a problem opening the Russia-Israel line for other companies as well, which hurts many Russian airlines," he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3887846,00.html
---------- Добавлено в 16:48 ----------
Ynet сообщает, что самолет компании Arkia должен был вылететь вчера из аэропорта "Пулково" в Санкт-Петербурге в Москву, забрать там 257 пассажиров и улететь в Израиль. Но питерские пограничники в аэропорту задержали пилотов, внезапно заявив, что они находятся на территории России без виз. Их никак не удавалось убедить в том, что с сентября 2008 года никакие визы гражданам Израиля в России не нужны.
Процесс сдвинулся с мертвой точки только после вмешательства израильского МИД и министерства транспорта, по сути "взявшего в заложники" самолет компании "ТрансАэро", которыйдолжен был направиться в Россию. Без такого "силового приема" российская сторона отказывалась заниматься проблемой, заявляя, что "пусть израильтяне позвонят утром, мы разберемся".
Самолет Arkia вылетел ночью в Москву, а оттуда, в 7 часов утра - в Израиль. Приземлится он в аэропорту Бен-Гурион только в 10:50 по местному времени, опоздав на 10 часов. Пассажиры рейса, которые провели в аэропорту около 12 часов, рассказали ИА Ynet, что ими никто не занимался, никакой информации им не предоставляли и даже не покормили.
http://izrus.co.il/tourism/article/2010-05-11/9834.html
The Arkia passengers spent the night at the Moscow airport and only an extreme step taken by the Airports Authority – namely the grounding of a Russian plane at Ben-Gurion International Airport – convinced the Russian authorities to let the flight leave.
The plane was scheduled to take off at 7 pm Monday evening, with 260 passengers in tow. However, just moments before takeoff Russian clerks asked to see the crew's visas.
The stunned crew, made up of three pilots and six stewards, tried to explain that Israel and Russia had signed an agreement making visas defunct over a year ago, but the officials were unconvinced and grounded the plane.
Arkia immediately employed the assistance of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, but to no avail. "Although everyone agreed that it was a mistake, they just told us to come back at 8 am to solve the problem," the airline's deputy CEO, Nir Dagan, told Ynet. "It was unacceptable to us."
Late that night, in a rare move to pressure the Russian authorities, the Airports Authority in Israel decided to ground a Trans Euro flight bound for Russia until the Arkia plane was allowed to take off. The Russian officials capitulated around 4 am, and the plane made its way back to Israel early Tuesday morning.
Yariv Eisenberg, whose parents were passengers on the delayed flight, said they had spent the night without food or drink at the Russian airport. "They had no local money left and they are elderly, no longer young and healthy, and they sounded very stressed and exhausted. My father has a blood pressure problem and they were very concerned," he told Ynet.
An Israeli official told Ynet it was not the first time the Russian authorities had created difficulties for Israeli flights. "The Russians have a problem opening the Russia-Israel line for other companies as well, which hurts many Russian airlines," he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3887846,00.html
---------- Добавлено в 16:48 ----------
Ynet сообщает, что самолет компании Arkia должен был вылететь вчера из аэропорта "Пулково" в Санкт-Петербурге в Москву, забрать там 257 пассажиров и улететь в Израиль. Но питерские пограничники в аэропорту задержали пилотов, внезапно заявив, что они находятся на территории России без виз. Их никак не удавалось убедить в том, что с сентября 2008 года никакие визы гражданам Израиля в России не нужны.
Процесс сдвинулся с мертвой точки только после вмешательства израильского МИД и министерства транспорта, по сути "взявшего в заложники" самолет компании "ТрансАэро", которыйдолжен был направиться в Россию. Без такого "силового приема" российская сторона отказывалась заниматься проблемой, заявляя, что "пусть израильтяне позвонят утром, мы разберемся".
Самолет Arkia вылетел ночью в Москву, а оттуда, в 7 часов утра - в Израиль. Приземлится он в аэропорту Бен-Гурион только в 10:50 по местному времени, опоздав на 10 часов. Пассажиры рейса, которые провели в аэропорту около 12 часов, рассказали ИА Ynet, что ими никто не занимался, никакой информации им не предоставляли и даже не покормили.
http://izrus.co.il/tourism/article/2010-05-11/9834.html
