An Israeli family's desperate scramble to reach their flight on time has earned them a stay in a Turkish police station and online fame.
On Tuesday, a man and his two sons arrived at their boarding gate at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport after it had already closed. They were attempting to fly to Tel Aviv.
The trio reportedly broke onto the bridge leading to the plane, but, having reached the end, discovered that it had already disconnected from the plane.
Video footage now circulating online shows the men dangling from it and dropping to the tarmac below.
The first Israeli to reach the ground then brushed past an airport worker and climbed onto a vehicle holding the plane in place, seemingly in an attempt to block the flight from taxiing to the runway.
The man can be seen waving his arms as Turkish staff stand nearby.
Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanı'nda İstanbul-Tel Aviv uçuşunu kaçıran İsrail uyruklu baba ve oğlu, körük kapısını zorlayarak açtıktan sonra aprona atladı.
— Yeni Şafak (@yenisafak) July 4, 2023
İki yolcu, çalışanlar ve polis tarafından etkisiz hale getirilerek gözaltına alındı. pic.twitter.com/dyMRdzGJS8
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a father and two sons had been arrested in Istanbul and detained at a police station after they missed their flight.
The video of their escape attempt has received tens of thousands of views online.
Describing the incident as "absolutely nuts", academic and Turkey expert Louis Fishman asked: "What the heck were they thinking?"
Travellers from the Jewish state are currently visiting Istanbul in "significant numbers" he wrote on Twitter, adding that incidents such as this helped to create an image of the "ugly Israeli tourist".
Earlier this month, three Israelis were detained in Turkey after allegedly filming and harassing a flight attendant.
Istanbul Airport
The international departures hall of Istanbul Airport (Photo: Getty)
The men, who were travelling to Istanbul, were among nine people held after the plane landed.
The sister of one detainee told Ynet the attendant called the police and claimed the Israeli passengers had sexually harassed her.
