The departure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Warsaw, where he participated in the ministerial conference on the Middle East, was delayed for several hours due to a malfunction of the aircraft.
The premier arrived early on Friday morning at the Warsaw airport for a flight to Tel Aviv, but he had to return to the hotel due to a malfunction of the airliner. The prime minister’s plane, a Boeing 777, was damaged by a pushback tractor that crashed into it as Netanyahu was about to leave just after midnight.
A replacement aircraft was sent, which carrier Benjamin Netanyahu back to Israel.
An official with Netanyahu’s office said the new flight was expected to leave Warsaw at around 9:30 a.m.
Netanyahu does not have his own plane, but charters jets from the national El-Al carrier which are then outfitted for his needs. The government is in the process of purchasing an official plane for use by the prime minister.
Benjamin Netanyahu was in Warsaw for an international ministerial meeting on the Middle East countries organized by the United States and Poland, which was held mostly behind closed doors.
