Egyptian members of parliament are demanding the immediate closure of Israel's El Al airlines offices in Cairo, following what they describe as the El Al's mistreatment of Israeli Arab passengers and the marring of Cairo Airport's reputation, the London-based A Sharq al Awsat reported Saturday.
The MPs are also demanding the prosecution of Israeli security guards at Cairo Airport and the expulsion of El Al employees from Egypt, the report said.
A scuffle broke out Friday between Israeli Arab passengers of the El Al airline and security guards at Cairo Airport after an El Al flight took off leaving behind 17 Arab passengers due to prolonged security checks.
The El Al ticket counter in the airport was damaged in the violence that erupted, Haaretz reported. The El Al flight to Israel, which was due to take off at 12:30 A.M., was supposed to have 120 passengers on it, including 60 Israeli Arabs. After the standard security checks were completed, 17 Israeli Arabs passengers were left in the terminal, awaiting more thorough security checks. The plane took off without waiting for the 17 passengers.
The Arab passengers protested the way they were treated and a violent scuffle broke out in the terminal. The passengers were later transferred to a hotel in Cairo.
El Al sent a special plane to Cairo on Friday afternoon to pick up the group. Two of the passengers preferred to take a taxi from Cairo to Gaza, paid by the airline. An El Al spokesman stated in response that the El Al flight took off from Cairo without 17 of its passengers "due to security reasons."
The spokesman added that despite the incident, El Al would not ease security checks it holds prior to its flights. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
