One United Airlines flight heading from Newark to Tel Aviv was delayed for a day after a pilot refused to fly over Israel.
The United flight UA84 was due to fly out of the US yesterday, 6 August.
Hundreds had trekked to the airport and some passengers even boarded the plane before they were told they wouldn't be flying, citing a 'crew refusal'.
It would later come to light that the pilot refused to fly over Israel 'because of the security situation' in the region.
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One passenger on board, named Michal, described her frustration with the situation.
She explained that she and her family were among the first to board because they had a baby with them, and described the situation: "Airline staff on the plane told us that ground crew knew there was no pilot, and nonetheless they conducted boarding procedures and we couldn’t understand why."
"When we got off the plane and were back in the waiting area they said that the pilot refused to fly to Israel because of the security situation."
Another passenger, Gil Eyal, reiterated Michal's frustration, having also waited with young children to board the flight.
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"I was waiting for the UA84 flight with my kids… but there was a feeling that something wasn’t okay since boarding began, but was slow.
"Suddenly, the United representative announced that the flight was canceled. She stressed that the reason was that the crew was refusing to take off."
Gil went on to tweet United Airlines to find out what had happened to their flight, with the airline responding by saying that the issue wasn't a 'crew refusal' but to do with a 'security situation' and a 'flight curfew' — a curfew that doesn't exist, confusing passengers more. UNILAD has reached out to United Airlines for comment.
While the flight has since been rescheduled, it's still not clear why the pilot wouldn't fly.
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In recent weeks, however, tensions have been mounting in the region, with Israel launching another spate of air attacks on Gaza last week, which are thought to have killed at least 31 people, including six children.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the attacks were 'preemptive' acts against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad — the attacks have been widely condemned by Palestinians.
While the conflict is ongoing, there is not currently a flight curfew and all other flights in the region seem to be operating as normal.
United Airlines said of the flight: "United flight 84 from New York/Newark (EWR) to Tel Aviv (TLV) on August 6 was rescheduled and departed the morning of Sunday, August 7. Customers were provided hotel reimbursement and meal vouchers for the inconvenience."
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Topics: News, Israel, World News
