Dubai: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has dismissed reports that one of its planes had landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
A picture of the plane with the Saudia livery was circulated on social media to support the claim.
However, Saudia Spokesman Abdul Rahman Al Tayeb said that the photo did not reflect the reality on the ground and the allegations were pure fabrications.
“There are some quarters that use a large number of anonymous social media accounts to spread lies, rumors and exaggerations to harm and defame and the airline, a national symbol,” he said.
“Unfortunately, some people, in good faith, re-tweet them without verifying their authenticity, which makes them responsible for their deeds and thus liable to punishment under the law.”
In May 2015, reports said that Saudia cancelled a contract with a Portuguese company for taking an off-duty airliner with Saudi Arabian Airlines branding for maintenance at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel
Hi Fly flew the jet, an A330-300, carrying only crew members to Ben Gurion Airport for a “routine maintenance procedure”.
The plane was owned by a European company that leased it to Saudia. According to the Saudi airliner, contracts for leased planes prevent them from landing or passing through countries that do not have relations with Saudi Arabia.
By taking the plane to Tel Aviv, Hi Fly committed a blatant violation of the contract that mandates the leasing company to obtain written approval mentioning the airports where it is to land or undergo routine maintenance.
Under Saudia contract rules, landing or operation processes should take place in a country that has diplomatic relations with the Saudi Arabia to enable its staff and the Civil Aviation Authority to follow up on the maintenance operation at any time.
The propensity by social media users to misinterpret and distort facts was again made clear in July 2015 when a silver Mercedes with Saudi licence plates was seen parked in an Israeli city.
The car was spotted in Jaffa’s Clock Tower Square by Jacky Hugi, the Middle East editor for Israel’s Army Radio, who posted the picture on Twitter.
The unprecedented sight of a Saudi car in Israel triggered torrents of speculation and comments on social networks.
However, the mystery was dissipated when a Saudi daily reported that the luxury car belonged to an American national working in Saudi Arabia.
“We contacted the owner and he said he was an American in his 70s working in the construction sector in Saudi Arabia as a technical consultant,” Makkah newspaper reported.
The US expatriate said that he was on holidays in Israel and that his papers were checked four times by the Israeli police during his trip because of the licence plates.
The consultant said he often drove the car between the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The US citizen bought the 2008 Mercedes in 2014 in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia, like most Arab countries, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
