An El Al flight crew in Paris was stunned when a French air traffic controller broadcast “Free Palestine” over the radio, amid a surge of anti-Israel actions targeting the airline in France.
What began as a routine landing for an El Al flight at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on Monday turned into a shocking display of hostility. According to the pilots, an air traffic controller’s voice suddenly cut through the radio — not with instructions, but with a political outburst: “Free Palestine.”
El Al reacted sharply, calling the incident “unprofessional and inappropriate” and confirming it had escalated the matter to Israeli authorities, who are now in contact with their French counterparts. “The company views this with utmost seriousness,” the airline said in a statement.
The incident comes amid a deepening wave of anti-Israel sentiment in France — not just in public demonstrations, but in official actions. On Monday, Ynet revealed that French authorities have quietly stopped renewing work visas for El Al’s armed security personnel stationed in Paris under the Israeli embassy’s authority. The policy shift, which began about six months ago, has already left multiple staffers without legal documentation, forcing some to leave France entirely.
The hostility has also turned violent. Just last week, El Al’s Paris offices were attacked by vandals, who scrawled antisemitic graffiti — including the phrase “Genocide Airline” — across the building and splattered it with red paint. In response, El Al announced it would temporarily pull its on-site staff from Paris, outsourcing passenger services to other carriers.
The string of incidents underscores a climate of escalating animosity toward Israeli institutions in France, raising diplomatic concerns and security fears for Israeli nationals operating in the country.
