Air Seychelles makes emergency landing in Jeddah
Carrying 128 Israeli passengers, flight HM022 originated from Seychelles. (Air Seychelles)
(Seychelles News Agency) – An Air Seychelles flight, which made an emergency landing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday night due to a technical malfunction, reached its destination in Tel Aviv on Tuesday afternoon.
Carrying 128 Israeli passengers, flight HM022 originating from Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, made the unscheduled stop at the King Abdulaziz International Airport due to technical difficulty.
According to the Saudi Gazette news service, “the KAIA announced that the airport control tower had received a distress call from an Air Seychelles plane (No. SET022) to make an emergency landing after a smell of smoke in the cockpit at 8:12 pm on Monday.”
The emergency landing was operated under unique circumstances as the two countries – Saudi Arabia and Israel – have never established diplomatic relations. Israelis are restricted from travelling to Saudi Arabia, except under certain conditions.
“The airport confirmed that a number 2 state of emergency was declared with all the readiness was in place to provide assistance to the plane. The emergency operational management room at the airport was activated and the plane landed safely at 8:40 pm local time,” added the Saudi Gazette.
The six crew members were transferred to the hotel at the airport while the 128 passengers were accommodated at a hotel. They all left on a replacement airplane on Tuesday morning.
SNA was unable to get in touch with the communication section of Air Seychelles for additional information.
Air Seychelles, the national airline of Seychelles, was established in 1978 and began long-haul service in 1983. The airline offers international and domestic flights to over 12 airlines operating at the Seychelles International Airport at Pointe Larue.