Arab-Jewish tensions force two passengers off an Aegean Airlines flight

It started with a flickering of paranoia in the mind of one Jewish passenger. It ended with two entirely innocent customers being hauled off a commercial flight, and with senior Palestinian officials accusing their Greek counterparts of reviving "the worst years of the South African apartheid". The debacle unfolded on a routine Aegean Airlines flight from Athens to Tel Aviv. Before the aircraft could take off, an "initially small group" of Israeli Jews "vocally and persistently" demanded that two Arab passengers undergo additional checks—purportedly because they were acting suspiciously. The pilot called airport security to verify the suspects' travel documents. Both men were given the all-clear, but not before paranoia swept through the cabin, compelling dozens of bystanders to conclude that the unexpected delay must be proof positive of an imminent threat to life and limb. "It started with three or four people and by the end there were 60-70 people standing up, demanding that the pair disembark," an Aegean spokesperson recalled. Confronted with an on-board mutiny, cabin crew took the fateful decision to ask the two Arab passengers — who were not accused of any wrongdoing by the airline — if they would mind taking a later flight. They didn't. Aegean paid for their overnight stay and sent them packing the following morning. Saeb Erekat, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, issued a scathing statement about the "unjust and disgraceful" treatment of the Arab passengers. He called on the Greek government to "take strong action against this racist act", likening it to South African apartheid. Responding, Dimitris Gerogiannis, the airline's CE, published an open letter expressing his "greatest regrets" but stopping short of apologising for the crew's actions. <br/>