Ryanair apologies after crew member announced Tel Aviv-bound flight was arriving into Palestine 

Passengers on flight from Bologna in Italy complained after mistake, with Jewish human rights organisation saying it had received 'numerous complaints'

The incident took place on June 10 on a flight from Italy to Israel. 

Ryanair has issued an apology after a crew member onboard a flight into Tel Aviv in Israel reportedly told passengers they were arriving into Palestine.

Passengers on board the flight were said to have complained, with the crew apologising for the mistake. However, despite the mistake, a small number of passengers continued to complain to the staff, with police eventually being called to meet the aircraft upon landing.

In a statement, the airline said a “junior crew member” on the flight from Bologna in northern Italy to Tel Aviv on June 10 “made a routine descent PA mistakenly saying Palestine instead of Tel Aviv”.

“This was an innocent mistake with no intent and was immediately corrected and apologised for by the senior crew member on board.” 

The announcement was made in Italian and English.

Following the incident, Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson wrote to the Israeli ambassador to Ireland as well as the Simon Wiesenthal Center — a Jewish human rights organisation.

The company said it was not its policy to refer to Tel Aviv to be in any other country other than Israel.

The crew member who made the announcement has been spoken to and received a warning, according to the airline, to ensure this kind of mistake never happens again.

The airline reiterated Israel was an important partner for Ryanair and that it plans to continue to invest in the country to grow traffic.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it had received “numerous complaints” about the incident.