NEW DELHI: Air India has evacuated its crew members and two other employees from Tel Aviv. The airline had cancelled its October 7 Delhi-Tel Aviv flight following deadly terror attacks in Israel and consequently the return flight did not operate. However, there were 10 crew members already in Israel — pilots and cabin crew — to operate the return flight.
On Sunday the airline flew out these 10 crew members along with the station and airport managers out of Israel. They are learnt to have boarded a flight to Addis Ababa Ababa on Ethiopian and will take a connecting flight from there to India. “For AI, the safety of its passengers and employees is paramount. Given the situation in Israel, October 7 flight was cancelled and our people in Israel have been flown out,” said sources.
Details of this evacuation have been sought from AI and are awaited.
Meanwhile, AI has for now cancelled its Israel flights till October 14. “Our flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended till October 14, 2023, for the safety of our passengers and crew. Air India will extend all possible support to passengers who have confirmed bookings on any flight during this period,” an Air India spokesperson said.
AI has five flights weekly nonstops to Tel Aviv and will take a call on them depending on the situation in the country.
Israeli airline EL AL had earlier announced it will resume India flights this October after a three-year pandemic gap and the journey was to be shorter thanks to it overflying Saudi Arabia and Oman now. What used to be about eight-hour journey earlier with the Israeli airline taking much longer routes — Tel Aviv-Red Sea-Gulf of Aden-Arabian Ocean to Delhi and Mumbai and ditto on the way back — was to become a 5.5-hour flight to Mumbai and an hour more for Delhi. El Al’s Delhi-Tel Aviv was to commence from from October 29, said a leading travel agent. Now whether this plan changes remains to be seen.
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