Ryanair apologises after flight attendant calls Israel ‘Palestine’.
Passengers on a recent Ryanair flight bound for Israel were shocked after a flight attendant “repeatedly described their final destination as Palestine”.
According to media reports, during the Sunday flight from Bologna, Italy to Tel Aviv, a stewardess repeatedly said over the PA system in both English and Italian that the final destination was “occupied Palestine.”
When passengers asked her to correct herself, the stewardess refused and an uproar broke out. Passengers tried to photograph the stewardess and identify her.
“We didn’t [buy tickets] on the airline to deal with anti-Zionist opinions [from flight staff],” one furious flyer said.
“All we wanted was [an announcement] that Tel Aviv is in Israel.”
According to passengers, instead of apologising, the flight attendant doubled down and then accused the passengers of causing a disturbance that endangered those on the flight.
On Thursday, Ryanair apologized for the incident, calling it an “innocent mistake.”
“A junior crew member on this flight from Bologna to Tel Aviv (10 June) made a routine descent PA mistakenly saying ‘Palestine’ instead of ‘Tel Aviv.’ This was an innocent mistake with no intent and was immediately corrected and apologized for by the senior crew member on board,” the airline said in a statement to the UK’s Jewish Chronicle.
Eddie Wilson, the CEO of Ryanair, said that he had written to Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Bar Sadeh to formally apologise and make assurances that this mistake would not be repeated.
He said: “It is not Ryanair policy (or our crew practice) to refer to Tel Aviv as being in any country other than Israel. The crew member in question has been spoken to and received a warning to ensure that such an error is never repeated.
“Israel is an important partner for Ryanair.”
The incident sparked debate on social media, with some commentators backing the flight attendant.
“It is Palestine, you colonizing thieves,” one user wrote.
“But it is Palestine,” another commented.
Others hit back, swearing to boycott the airline: “Ban them from landing….. quite simple. I never flew Ryanair and i never will. Only one way to fly to Israel: El Al”
Another Twitter user wrote: “If @RyanAir considers Tel Aviv to be in Palestine then perhaps they should only do business with the Palestinian Authority. Israel and Israelis can make their own way to and from the Jewish state.”
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