An El Al pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Ankara after members of the Hassidic Breslev community were being unruly and smelled of drugs.
A number of videos were publicized showing the passengers being unruly but the report filed by the El Al pilot shows the incident from the perspective of the pilot, detailing that he worried about passengers being too rowdy and taking drugs while on the plane.
In his flight report the pilot writes: I announced that I would make an emergency landing in Ankara because the passengers were endangering other passengers and the flight crew.
There was a violent atmosphere in the cabin. The flight was entirely out of the ordinary, the feeling was that the passengers were criminals.”
The pilot added that, “El Al does its best to accommodate these Hassidic passengers but I am saying this definitively: If this behavior continues, El Al will lose a plane due to the behavior of such unruly passengers,” and added that, “I know that this behavior does not reflect the majority of our passengers.”
