BEIRUT: The Wings of Lebanon airline said it was surprised and angered that one of the planes it had rented from a Turkish company had landed at an airport in Israel.
Images circulated Wednesday on several media outlets, showing a plane with the Wings of Lebanon logo landing at the Israeli airport.
In response, the Lebanese airline released a statement Wednesday night clarifying that it had no prior knowledge of the incident and that this particular plane had been rented from a Turkish company called Tailwind Airlines.
It added that it had rented the plane two months ago to use for charter flights during the summer season from the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport to Antalya Airport.
It had sent the plane off for periodic maintenance for five days, and was surprised to discover that the same plane had landed at the Ben Gurion International Airport, transporting passengers coming from Antalya, the statement added.
The Lebanese airline said that it has contacted Tailwind, asking the Turkish airline to clarify why the Wings of Lebanon logo was still painted on the plane and why they hadn’t conducted the requested maintenance work.
“The airline considers this a breach of the agreement between the two companies, and a huge danger to future relations,” the statement said, adding that any contact with Israel was a red line.