Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Israel/ Palestine
Airline apologizes for letting Racist Israelis force Palestinian-Israeli passengers off Plane

Airline apologizes for letting Racist Israelis force Palestinian-Israeli passengers off Plane

contributors 01/08/2016

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Ma’an News Agency | – –

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Greek Aegean airlines on Wednesday apologized to PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat for the forced removal of two Palestinians from a flight.

CEO of the Greek airline, Dimitris Gerogiannis, sent a letter to Erekat expressing the airline’s “greatest regret” after a group of Jewish Israelis reportedly pressured cabin crew earlier this week to force the Palestinians on board to disembark.

According to Israeli media reports, the group said the two Palestinians — both citizens of Israel — constituted a “security risk” and prevented the flight from taking off until the two were removed from the aircraft.

The PLO Secretary-General in response expressed “outrage” at the “discrimination and prejudice at the hands of the Aegean cabin crew.”

“We call upon the Greek government to take strong action against this racist act,” Erekat said following the incident, adding that the move was reminiscent of apartheid-era South Africa, “which is not different than the policies carried out by the Israeli government against Palestinians under the pretext of ‘security.”

Aegean CEO in reply to Erekat’s statement acknowledged that “there was unwarranted and indeed unfair continued reaction by a large group of passengers.”

Gerogiannis’ letter concluded: “Again we regret the whole event, once which is quite unprecedented in our experience despite flying for many years to the Middle East.”

——

Related video added by Juan Cole:

2 Arab Israelis booted from Greek plane after Jewish passengers cry ‘terrorists’

Filed Under: Israel/ Palestine

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Top Things You Still Think You Know About Iran that are Not True
  • Why Trump Bombed Iran: Preserving US and Israeli Nuclear Supremacy in the Middle East
  • Colonial Logic, not Jewish Wisdom Guides Israel's Wars
  • Trump's contravention of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal Led to Israel-Iran Escalation
  • Israel's Attacks have Exposed Iran's Weaknesses, but it is in Little Danger of Collapsing

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved