About 50 participants of a trip by the "Connected Plus" nonprofit, which accompanies cancer patients aged 20 to 40, were stranded at the Geneva airport last night (Monday) on their way back to Israel, after the Arkia plane was diverted to Lyon due to weather conditions.
According to Yaakov Hershkowitz, the association's CEO who is with the group, the passengers waited for many hours at the airport until they were told that the flight would not take off. "We left the Alps for Geneva yesterday morning. We had a few sandwiches for the trip, but they ran out. "All the sick people were in the field for long hours, without air conditioning," he told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News.
Hershkowitz noted that this was a religious group, so it was difficult to obtain suitable food at the airport. It was only after 1:00 a.m. when the group was transferred to the hotel to which it was directed by Arkia, and kosher food arrived only around 2:30 a.m., after a local Jew from Geneva volunteered to help.
According to him, the need to keep all the participants of the trip together with the medical team that accompanied them made it difficult to find a suitable accommodation solution. "There is no air conditioning at the airport in Geneva, it felt like a sauna. Arkia also did not take care of transportation, and we had to get to the hotel in about 15 taxis," he said.
The flight back to Israel is scheduled for today at 2:00 p.m. However, he said, the delay has already had consequences for some of the participants. "Some people missed medical treatments and tests that were supposed to be done today. Despite everything, we had an amazing team that knew how to manage the event, but it's definitely unfortunate. We're just waiting to get back to Israel, to the families who are waiting for us, and to do our best to provide the participants with appropriate security and safety."