Iberian Airways infuriated Israeli passengers yesterday on an approach to Ben Gurion International Airport with an announcement welcoming people to “Palestine.”
The Iberian Airways pilot announced upon his approach to the airport Wednesday, in Spanish and then in English, the flight “would be landing shortly in Palestine.” The country “Israel” was never mentioned, according to passengers quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 TV.
According to one passenger interviewed by the news program, the omission was intentional. “He didn’t absentmindedly say it in English – it was intentional, and even more so in this tense time,” he said, noting there was no mention of the State of Israel throughout the flight.
It was “unacceptable, we all noticed it,” another passenger told the news program. A complaint has been filed with Iberia.
