Unexploded artillery shell chaos at Tel Aviv Airport
CISR
This headline is brought to you by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR) which works to support resilience and recovery in global communities affected by war and conflict.
(One Mile at at Time) On Thursday evening an American family tried to fly out of Tel Aviv Airport with an unexploded artillery shell, which they had picked up while touring Golan Heights (the site of war between Israel and Syria).
Israel is known for its incredibly tight airport security checks. According to reports, a member of the family removed the shell from a backpack, and asked a security official if it could be placed in the suitcase and checked.
The security official at this point ordered the immediate area to be cleared, but another passenger misunderstood what was said, and started shouting “terrorists shooting,” which caused mass panic.
There’s video footage on Twitter where you can see utter panic in the check-in hall, with some people running, and others lying on the floor. You really have to watch the video to appreciate the level of panic that there was in the terminal.