Italy aviation agency condemns pro-Palestinian protest that blocked Israel-bound passengers

ROME (AP) — Italy’s aviation authority on Thursday strongly condemned an incident at Milan’s Malpensa airport in which it said Israeli-bound passengers were temporarily blocked from boarding a flight to Tel Aviv by pro-Palestinian activists.

The president of the ENAC authority, Pierluigi Di Palma, offered the condemnation in person during a meeting he requested with Israel’s ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, at the agency’s headquarters, ENAC said.

ENAC had posted a video on its website of the Jan. 4 incident, in which protesters described by ENAC as pro-Palestinian activists locked hands and seemingly blocked passengers from getting past the gate desk to board their flight to Tel Aviv. According to the video, the protesters scuffled with a few passengers who pushed their way through.

The incident led to a two-hour delay in takeoff, ENAC said.

ENAC firmly condemned the protest, announced an investigation to identify the people responsible and vowed to take measures to prevent anything similar from happening in the future. According to Italian news reports, those responsible had been waiting to board a flight to Morocco from a nearby gate.

ENAC called the incident “particularly serious” and one that “contravenes the principles of safety, neutrality, compliance with the rules of the air transport system, and the right to mobility of all citizens.”

Di Palma, the agency head, told Peled of Italy’s “non-negotiable commitment” to ensuring every passenger can move freely and safely in Italian airports.

“Italy is and will remain a country that firmly rejects all forms of hatred and discrimination, and air transport embodies this vision as a meeting place for different peoples and cultures,” Di Palma said.

ENAC quoted Peled as expressing appreciation for the condemnation. Peled said he hoped that prevention measures would be strengthened “and that such events will not happen again,” ENAC said.