Israelis pulled off flight from Cyprus to Tel Aviv for unruly behavior
Six youths said arrested at Larnaca airport after throwing a bottle at a woman on board and arguing with flight attendants

A flight from Cyprus to Israel was delayed Thursday morning, reportedly after a group of Israeli passengers became unruly and were taken off the plane.
According to the Ynet news site, six Israeli youths were arrested by Cypriot police after they were removed from the plane for throwing a bottle at a woman and fighting with the flight staff.
“The plane was already moving and the flight attendants came to see what was happening,” Itzik Ifergan, who was also aboard the TUS Airways flight from Larnaca to Tel Aviv, told Ynet. “The guys who threw the bottle just laughed at them and smiled among themselves.”
Channel 12 news reported that the pilot stopped taxiing and returned to the gate, where those involved were removed from the plane and detained. The flight then proceeded as scheduled and landed in Israel with a slight delay.
In a statement provided to Ynet, TUS Airways said “it would not tolerate any form of violence” and that “the security of passengers on our flight is always our top priority.”
Cyprus, less than an hour’s flight from Tel Aviv, is a very popular tourist destination for Israelis, many of whom are vacationing during August.
הישראלי המכוער: חמישה ישראלים התפרעו לפני המראת טיסתם מקפריסין לישראל וגרמו לעיכוב. הקברניט ביטל את הטיסה, החזיר את המטוס לשער – והחמישה הועברו לחקירת המשטרה המקומית @sharonidan pic.twitter.com/1IRalKx9tq
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 10, 2023
Instances of Israelis misbehaving on international flights are not infrequent, and tend to make news in the Jewish state. Last year, a flight from Tel Aviv to Romania was delayed for five hours as fights broke out on board and a passenger demanded he be allowed to smoke.
In January 2022, a flight from New York to Tel Aviv turned back mid-flight when two Israeli passengers clashed with cabin crew after refusing to leave their seats in the partially empty business class despite not having bought business seat tickets.
In one of the most infamous recent cases, a fight broke out on board a flight from Israel to Bulgaria in 2015 after a passenger berated a flight attendant over her request to purchase chocolate from the duty free cart while the staff member was helping others on board.