An altercation between several Israelis on a HelloJets flight to Bucharest escalated to a massive fight involving some 30 passengers on Sunday night, according to Romanian media.
HelloJets was operating the flight for Israel’s Israir, which confirmed the incident, but said that 11 people were involved.
Romanian publication Mediafax reported that the border police was notified ahead of the flight’s arrival at Henri Coandă International Airport that their presence was required as soon as the plane landed.
The border police told Mediafax that the cause was a “spontaneous conflict” that broke out between several Israeli passengers, without giving further details.
Upon arrival of the flight, the border police investigated the incident with the flight crew, according to Romanian newspaper Adevărul, before identifying the Israeli passengers they believed to be directly involved in the fight.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
The passengers were escorted from the plane for further investigation and were fined 4,000 Romanian Leu ($930) each, the publication added.
Israir, which hired HelloJets to operate its flight to Bucharest, told Ynet in response to a request for comment that the incident had involved 11 passengers.
Illustrative: Passengers walk by a dog next to border police officers at the Henri Coanda International Airport in Otopeni, Romania, on March 28, 2024. (Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)
“Israir condemns violence of any kind and operates according to law and regulations,” the airline added.
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this