Unruly passengers shock Israel

A video of Israelis acting up on a weekend flight to the Bulgarian resort town of Varna has left viewers shocked and outraged.

The clip shows a female passenger standing and berating the steward for not heeding her demand for a chocolate bar from the duty-free cart while he was helping another passenger. “You work for me, I paid for the flight, I want chocolate,” she demands.

The steward keeps his cool and asks her not to shout at him. “I don’t work for you, you wish I would work for you.”

“I want the chocolate!” she repeats.

Then her sister gets in the act from across the aisle, yelling, “She wants to buy chocolate, what is she, an Arab?

“She paid for the flight, sell her the chocolate, you piece of garbage,” the sister yells.

The two women continue to yell the word “chocolate” repeatedly, mixing in a string of curses. “I’ll steal the chocolate!” threatens the sister.

The steward warns them that they will not be allowed into Varna if they continue acting up.

Then it is time for the woman’s husband Eli to get into the act: “I don’t give a shit about you or Varna. Fuck your mother, you asshole!” Eli gets out of his seat and advances menacingly toward the steward, cursing all the while.

A stewardess comes over, and the woman continues to yell, and refuses to sit.

Haaretz reported that the group of passengers were already acting up at Ben Gurion Airport, and Israir employees considered barring them from the flight. Another passenger told Channel 2 news that they were drinking before the flight, and that one of them even vomited.

Bulgarian police questioned the passengers when they landed but did not charge them with any crime.

“We are happy that this issue is in the public consciousness,” said Israir in a statement. “The phenomenon of violence against flight staffs is getting worse… Our job is to do everything to eradicate the phenomenon primarily for the security of the passengers and equipment on the flight.” The company pledged to do everything it could to uproot such behavior and guarantee security for its passengers.

The passenger who started the fracas told Channel 2 that she had apologized to the company. “Things were said that were not positive from both sides in the heat of the moment. We all apologized deeply to Israir and the passengers. Our trip was ruined, the disappointment is great and the lesson has been learned. We all feel bad.”