Air France
Air FranceiStock

A group of yeshiva students were detained in Paris and prevented from boarding an Air France flight to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Yeshiva World News (YWN) reported.

According to the report, airline officials informed these students that they must present proof of medical insurance in Israel in order to board the flight.

The Chaim V’Chessed non-governmental organization was notified of the incident and was baffled by it, since although it is always recommended to have medical insurance, there is no such requirement forcing passengers to show proof of insurance.

Chaim V’Chessed reached out to the Israeli Foreign Ministry which confirmed that this is not an Israeli policy, but rather a requirement by Air France. Israeli Embassy officials in Paris intervened to have this rule revoked.

Eventually, Air France conceded that there is no such requirement, and allowed the uninsured passengers to board their flight, according to YWN.

Chaim V’Chessed told YWN that in a separate incident, passengers traveling via Air Canada in Newark to Israel with stop-overs in Toronto were stymied by a similar demand for medical insurance. Chaim V’Chessed representatives are involved in resolving this misunderstanding by the airline.

At the same time, Chaim V’Chessed is advising travelers to immediately purchase travelers insurance policies online which will satisfy the airlines’ requirements.