Flight to Israel lands in Greece after incident with violent passenger

Published on February 9, 2024

An El Al flight from Prague, the Czech Republic, to Israel made an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, due to an unruly passenger, according to reports from Israeli media on Thursday. Israel’s national carrier stated that the flight, LY2522, diverted to Greece for an emergency landing, during which the disruptive passenger was removed from the aircraft with the assistance of local law enforcement.

El Al emphasized its strict no-tolerance stance on violence, committing to the continued safety of its passengers.

Later reports by N12 on Thursday revealed that the passenger was restrained by security personnel aboard the aircraft after he made an attempt to enter the cockpit. Described by N12 as “most likely an Arab,” the individual was handcuffed and then taken off the plane in Thessaloniki. In a separate incident last year, an El Al flight from Ben-Gurion Airport to Rome had to return over the Mediterranean Sea due to smoke detected in the cockpit.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, managed to safely execute an emergency landing in Larnaca.