Passengers on an El Al rescue flight that landed in Israel last Sunday were asked to go into quarantine after it emerged that 11 passengers were suspected of forging certificates stating they had undergone coronavirus tests.
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According to the report on the 'Mako' website, despite the stewards' appeal, on many parts of the flight the Haredi passengers were without masks, and some proudly said that they had obtained fake documents that purportedly required coronavirus tests.
""They did whatever they wanted. They didn't wear masks for many hours, they stood close to our seats while praying or having conversations and no one did anything," one passenger told 'Mako'. "We contacted the flight attendants, asked them to make sure they wore masks, but they reassured us that everything was fine and that we were just panicking.".
According to the report, immediately upon landing, it became clear that 11 of the passengers had contracted the coronavirus, and dozens of passengers were notified that they must go into isolation and undergo coronavirus tests to ensure that they were not carrying the virus.
The Health Ministry involved the Home Front Command and the Shin Bet in the affair, in an attempt to check whether the passengers had indeed falsified the coronavirus tests they had in their possession.
El Al responded: ""All flights operated by the company are carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the various authorities. El Al is careful to maintain the health of passengers and all crews on the ground and in the air. El Al is currently developing a 'safe flight' concept, within the framework of which checks will be carried out before, during and after boarding the flight. The passengers' claims have been forwarded to the operational elements and we are investigating the claims with the flight crew and the station.".
