A worker in the field put “fruit of Palestine” on the luggage – and they did not get on the flight to Israel

Keren, a resident of Kfar Saba who returned to Israel yesterday on an El Al flight from Los Angeles, was surprised to find out that her luggage and that of other passengers were left at the airport in the US. The reason: one of the workers at the airport stuck “Fruit of Palestine” stickers on their luggage.

“There was a delay in taking off from Los Angeles,” Keren recalls in a conversation with mako. “Everyone was already on the plane, but we didn’t take off, and we weren’t told the reason. When we landed in Israel and came to pick up our suitcase, we couldn’t find it, and together with eight other passengers, we went to the baggage tracking department in Israel, where we were told that all of our suitcases were left in Los Angeles after they found ‘Fruit of Palestine’ stickers on them, which apparently one of the field workers put on them, there is no other explanation.”

Keren and the other frustrated passengers were told that the luggage was left at the American field for security purposes and to make sure everything was in order. “It’s really scary and alarming, if they put something in one of the suitcases? Whoever did it could have done other things.”

Now, the passengers’ luggage is now making its way to Israel and is expected to return to its owner in the next day. It is important to note that after the check-in procedure, a strict procedure is carried out in which all the luggage of the passengers arriving in Israel are checked and in fact there is a double security procedure, both of the airline and of the field workers, and only after that the luggage goes into the belly of the plane.

A response to: The baggage check procedure on the company’s flights is a strict procedure carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Israeli Aviation Security Organization (“Ofek”) which operates on the basis of Shin Bet guidelines. The delay in takeoff and the arrival of part of the baggage to Israel was a result of the Ofek organization’s decision to carry out comprehensive checks. The issue is being handled by the field.