Separately, a French diplomat said his country was withholding visas for El Al security staff as payback for Israel's security checks of diplomatic personnel
August 14, 2025 09:36
French aviation authorities have suspended an air-traffic controller until further notice over allegations he yelled “Free Palestine” while communicating with the pilots of an inbound El Al flight nearing Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, the country’s transportation minister said.
“The person has been identified as an air-traffic controller. His access to carrying out [his role] has been suspended until further notice. A disciplinary procedure has been immediately initiated. The punishment must match the seriousness of the acts,” French Minister for Transport Philippe Tabarot wrote on X.
“An analysis of the recordings confirmed the facts,” as reported by El Al to the French authorities, the minister continued. Using air-traffic control communications for unrelated purposes is forbidden under the International Air Traffic Control (ATC) protocol, which is based on the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Separately, a diplomatic source in France’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday told JNS that Paris was delaying visas for El Al security personnel because of how “French diplomatic personnel in Israel and Jerusalem have been subject to systematic checks by Israeli security agents at Roissy Airport for El Al flights”.
The source, who declined to be identified, would not elaborate on the nature of the checks or France’s objections to them.
“A dialogue has been initiated with the Israeli Embassy in France to resolve these difficulties,” the source said. “In the meantime, several administrative measures related to this system have been temporarily suspended. Dialogue is continuing with a view to quickly finding a solution that meets the concerns of both parties.”
Israel’s Embassy in Paris had asked the French Foreign Ministry to resolve delays in the renewal of permits for security personnel working for El Al, a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to JNS on Tuesday.
The request followed media reports on Monday that French authorities had been holding up renewals for the past six months.
The report did not say whether the delays had affected the ability of El Al security staff to carry out their duties.
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