Air traffic controller suspended in France for saying 'Free Palestine'

An air traffic controller was suspended in France after saying "Free Palestine" to an Israeli airline crew.

The staff member at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport said the slogan during a radio exchange with the crew of an El Al flight on Monday, the French Ministry of Transport announced.

"Analysis of the recordings proves that the facts are true," Minister Philippe Tabarot wrote on X on Tuesday.

He added that the controller had "been deprived of all authority to work until further notice".

"Disciplinary proceedings were immediately initiated. The sanction must be commensurate with the seriousness of the facts," Tabarot said.

For the minister, the incident violates "radiocommunication rules, which must be limited to the safety and regularity of air traffic" and demonstrates "a failure to respect the duty of civil servant confidentiality", which is the status of air traffic controllers in France.

The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) branded it an "unacceptable incident", which "contravenes both the imperative of political neutrality and the security protocols governing communications between a control tower and an aircraft during takeoff".

A number of social media users criticised the move, however. 

"The urgent thing is to stop letting Israeli planes pollute our French skies and soil. We do not want to be complicit in the genocide in Gaza, apartheid and crimes in the West Bank," said one.

Another user accused the minister of turning a "blind eye to flagrant violations of all international treaties, to a genocide unfolding before his eyes, tens of thousands dead, but he suddenly finds the dignity to protest against a possible violation of the telecommunications code."

Pro-Palestine airlines controversies

The incident is the latest in a line of pro-Palestine controversies that have taken place in Europe involving airlines in recent months.

Last month, a video released on X appeared to show a female airport agent returning the papers of several people at an unidentified Paris airport, while telling them, "Free Palestine".

Despite the lack of information surrounding the incident, it was nevertheless reported to ADP, the capital's airport manager, who said it had opened an investigation.

ADP later confirmed that the scene was filmed at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, also known as Roissy airport, in mid-July, in a restricted area.

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The employee implicated in the video was reportedly identified as an Air France contractor.

"Passport checks on flights are carried out by an authorised external security company, in accordance with current local regulations," the airline told Le Figaro, adding it was "deeply committed to the values of hospitality, respect and neutrality".

"We will ensure that these principles are reiterated in the strongest possible terms to this service provider, whose staff are subject to a duty of confidentiality," it said.

Another recent incident that made headlines happened on a flight of the Spanish airline Iberia, where Jewish passengers received kosher meal trays tagged with handwritten messages reading "Free Palestine".

Iberia described the incident, which took place earlier this month, as "unacceptable" and announced the opening of a "comprehensive" investigation, both internally and involving external meal providers, to "shed light on the facts and adopt all relevant measures".

Israel's war on Gaza, which has so far killed 61,722 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 and has been described as a genocide by a growing number of states, rights organisations and legal experts, has provoked outcry across Europe and led to mass demonstrations and public acts of protest, sometimes targeting individual Israelis.