Czech Pilot Leaves Tel Aviv Without PAX

You could say the pilot of the Czech CSA Airlines was a bit miffed. His aircraft landed at Ben Gurion International Airport at about 5:15 local time Monday morning, due for a 45 minute turn-around and then a return to Prague.

The 45 minutes turned into two-and-a-half hours because of a ramp worker slow down in Tel Aviv. At the end of the two-and-a-half hours, the pilot, fed up to the gills, decided to leave.

Just leave. No matter that the deplaning passengers' luggage still had not been unloaded from the aircraft. No matter that the incoming passengers hadn't gotten on board yet. The pilot just... left.

CSA Supports Pilot's Decision

"They allowed the 82 arriving passengers to disembark, but no workers would take the luggage off the plane. So we flew back and will transport the luggage to Tel Aviv later today," CSA spokesman Vaclav Kral in Prague told Reuters on Monday. Of course, 30 or so boarding passengers were left stranded at the gate.

"He (the pilot) waited for as long as he did, then got approval from the Czech authorities to leave without passengers to Prague," said Israel Airports Authority spokesman Pini Schiff.

Schiff said the worker slow-down was a protest called by an Israeli labor organization over planned cuts in salaries and benefits.

FMI: www.csa.cz