The video and photos attached were taken a few moments ago by Kuvien Images for YWN, aboard a flight from Vienna to Israel. The flight was forced to land in Cyprus to fill up on fuel, due to the ongoing crisis at Ben Gurion Airport.

Dozens of flights scheduled to depart from the Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday were halted until further notice due to contamination discovered in airport’s jet fuel supply. Airport management has ordered to suspend all aircraft fueling. As a result thousands of passengers are stranded at the airport.

According to a report received by YWN, foreign airliners in need of refueling have been instructed to land in Cyprus instead.

YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos taken by Kuvien Images for YWN.

Arkia Airline announced that the halt in fuel supply has forced management to cancel all local and international flights until further notice. Arkia had 16 local and 10 international flights scheduled for Thursday. El Al followed suit and said it was cancelling 20 flights due to jet fuel shortage.

In a statement, the airlines noted that passengers will receive a refund for their tickets, and that the company was looking into quick way to accommodate their passengers.

Ben Gurion International Airport Manager Shmuel Kendel said that 29 planes have been grounded. Twenty three of them indefinitely – as they do not even have enough fuel to reach the Amman Airport for refueling. Six other planes have been diverted to Amman or Larnaka, according to Kendel.

(Dov Gordon – YWN Israel / Ynet)