rockin'robin

PARIS (AP) — An emergency layover in Syria's capital was bad enough. Then passengers on Air France Flight 562 were asked to open their wallets to check if they had enough cash to pay for more fuel.

The plane, heading from Paris to Lebanon's capital, diverted amid tensions near the Beirut airport on Wednesday. Low on fuel, it instead landed in Damascus, the capital of neighboring Syria, where a civil war is raging.

An Air France spokesman explained Friday that the crew inquired about passenger cash only as a "precautionary measure" because of the "very unusual circumstances." Sanctions against Syria complicated payment for extra fuel.

He said Air France found a way to pay for the fill-up without tapping customer pockets, and apologized for the inconvenience. He wouldn't say how the airline paid, or how much.

One woman aboard said the passengers had rounded up 17,000 euros.

"The pilot asked the passengers in first class to get their cash together. Everyone started to collect money, and they managed to collect 17,000, but the pilot in the end didn't take anything. They resolved the problems with the Damascus airport," said a passenger speaking on France-Info radio identified as May Bsat.

The Boeing 777, carrying 185 people, took off for an overnight layover in Cyprus then landed safely in Beirut on Thursday.

Lebanon is a volatile mix of pro- and anti-Syrian factions, and a series of hostage-takings has raised worries about Lebanon being dragged deeper into Syria's unrest. Mobs supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad blocked the main airport highway in Beirut on Wednesday, before Lebanese military units moved in.

The layover was awkward for Air France, the flagship carrier for a country whose government toes a hard line against Syrian President Bashar Assad — and warns all its citizens to avoid or leave Syrian soil.

France, which once ruled Syria and Lebanon, championed European Union-wide economic sanctions on Syria — including its national airline, Syria Air. Air France operated regular flights to Damascus until suspending them amid violence earlier this year.

While it was the first time Air France said it had resorted to a request for passenger cash, it wasn't the first airline to do so.

Hundreds of passengers traveling from India to Britain were stranded for six hours in Vienna last year when their Comtel Air flight stopped for fuel, and the charter service asked them to kick in more than 20,000 pounds ($31,000) to fund the rest of the flight to Birmingham, England.

Air France: Out of gas? Ask passengers to pitch in - Yahoo! News

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Grummer

this is Just the beginning....

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dereksbicycles

Makes me nervous about traveling outside USA.

SimonJ

and your TSA are keeping others out so the small world is getting bigger again <smh>

caz12

many people in europe feel nervous about traveling to america.i admit i would not go middle east

GentleLove4Ever

I do travel a lot almost everywhere. I have never seen any danger during my travels. If you mind your own business, you get lotsa fun. You also get to know other cultures and traditions. Nothing top that.

Moondancer

i have been flying from usa to europe and western europe (russia) for many hours. it was nothing to fear for a long hours of flying. Yes i loose my sleeping pattern. my sis flew to middle east many times with no problems. Just a luck!

BornMellow

No. Many never can get the visas to go to US.

That is if the VISA ever gets approved. From the grapevine... US approved VISAS takes forever hence americans losing many potential revenue in tourism dollars as many people out of US decide to go elsewhere.