The tense hours endured by dozens of Israeli tourists on a flight from Seychelles to Tel Aviv, which was forced to land in Saudi Arabia (on the night between Monday and Tuesday), due to a technical malfunction, became calmer and more comfortable, in light of a calming and respectful reception from the Saudis.
"They put us in a very luxurious hotel at the airport, and they treat us very well," the passengers told Israel Hayom. "We just went down for an excellent breakfast and we are staying here at the moment, there is no expectation of the flight time back to Israel. It will be a special experience to tell the grandchildren. At first they told us not to connect to the internet, and then they allowed us to connect to the hotel's internet."
The flight route and the unplanned landing in Saudi Arabia, photo: FlightRadar24
Saudi arabia. Emergency landing in a country that still does not maintain normalization relations with Israel, photo: Reuters
Another Israeli we spoke to recounts the moments of terror on the flight: "The lights on the plane went out suddenly, it was scary and it forced the pilot to land in an emergency at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At first we were very scared because after all, this is a country that Israelis can't enter, but in the end we were treated very well and we're here in a good hotel and they're taking good care of us."
Another passenger said anxiously: "The emergency landing was stressful. The electricity went out and then there was a burnt smell and they immediately started the process of lowering. There were a lot of fire trucks and ambulances waiting for us." "We sat on the plane for about three hours, very stressed and didn't know what was going on, and there was no internet," he said.
An alternate Air Seychelles flight numbered D22 departed moments ago from Dubai airport bound for Jeddah. At this time, all passengers continue to be safe and staying at the hotel in the Jeddah Airport terminal, and will soon board a flight back to Tel Aviv.
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