When Daniela Franks turned to the Facebook group “Brits living in Israel” after she discovered that flight LY15 to London had returned to the gate due to a malfunction, she was looking for someone who could update her on its status.
In a conversation with Maariv, Daniela said: “I sent my son Yoni to his grandmother’s place in London, and then I received a call from him that they were coming back, I didn’t know what to do, who to contact to find out what to do, so I turned to the group to see if there was anyone who could support.”
Daniela added that “one of the members of the group is Elad, a pilot at El-Al, who saw the post and contacted his friend who flew the plane in question, and personally promised that they would take care of the child.
“My son is crazy about aviation, he had a good flight, especially after the pilot heard about him. They even let him sit in the business class and the cockpit until takeoff, and every 5 minutes they checked if he needed anything.
“The group “Brits living in Israel” on Facebook is a group that supports and helps in everything, but I did not imagine that it would allow such support from El-Al.”
An Israeli El Al plane flying above the clouds. (credit: Norbert/Pixabay)The group gets the job done
Anton Delin, who runs the Facebook group, told Maariv that “once again, our group does the job when there is help, it is not only for counseling, but also helps people with real problems. I am proud of the members of the group who knew how to do everything to help.”
Elad, a pilot in El-Al’s 737 fleet, happened to be a member of the group who saw the post. As soon as he saw it, he decided to help: “I knew that we had to calm the mother down and support her, so I turned to the pilot of the flight the child was on,” he told Maariv. He also said that “I am happy that we were able to help the child and give him a positive feeling, this is our DNA at El-Al – to give every passenger the best feeling.”
Yonatan Raz and Omer Peleg were the pilots on the flight. Omer told Maariv that “As the flight crew, we come across many different inquiries and are always happy to help together. The beauty of El-Al is the Israeli essence, which knows how to make contact from anywhere in the world, at any time, and with great fun.”
Michal Benin, head of the Israel station in El-Al, said: “Children between the ages of 5 and 15 flying unaccompanied by an adult are received by flight attendants from the special unit department, who retrieve the children at the designated desks and escort them with extreme care and sensitivity.
“Along the entire route, they are accompanied by a flight attendant who has been trained for this, until they get on the plane to be cared for by the crew. We get to accompany hundreds of children throughout the year, who excite us and share experiences and secrets with us, and we grow with them and meet them on vacations throughout the year.”
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