Well this is an unusual reason for a long haul flight to be delayed…
In this post:
EL AL flight delayed over “Free Palestine” stickers
140 suitcases were left behind on a recent long haul EL AL flight, after it was discovered that they had “Free Palestine” stickers on them, triggering a security concern and delay.
This incident happened on Monday, February 16, 2026, and involves EL AL flight LY6, scheduled to operate from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tel Aviv (TLV). The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was supposed to start the journey at 2PM, arriving in Tel Aviv the following afternoon at 1:45PM.
According to passengers, around the flight’s departure time, the crew announced a delay of 25 minutes due to something related to checked bags, without expanding on that further. However, it was then revealed that there was a more serious issue involving luggage, which caused the delay to stretch on.
Later on, the captain announced that 140 suitcases had been removed from the plane after “Free Palestine” stickers were discovered on them. Each bag was required to undergo individual security screening, to rule out the presence of explosives.
These checks took longer than expected, and ultimately the airline decided to depart without the luggage, rather than extending the delay further. In the end, roughly 140 passenger suitcases were left behind at the airport.
During the delay, some passengers reportedly shouted in protest. Another traveler said his wife’s suitcase contained a dress intended for their daughter’s wedding. To these complaints, the purser reportedly replied “it’s better to arrive safely without the suitcase than the alternative.”
After landing in Israel, many passengers received notifications that their luggage had not been transported on the flight, and that the bags would be sent on the next flight out of Los Angeles.
Presumably some airport workers were behind this
Understandably, passengers on this EL AL flight wonder how these stickers could’ve been placed on bags. One passenger asked “how did they allow this employee to put the stickers on?” and “if they allowed him to do that, how can they ensure that next time something won’t be put inside the suitcases?”
Indeed, it seems like a sure bet that a worker at the airport decided to put these stickers on the bags, some time between when the bags were checked and when they were loaded on the plane.
Regardless of how one feels about the conflict, this kind of behavior isn’t acceptable. People working at airports are there to make operations run as smoothly as possible, and not to sabotage them. EL AL is known for having the most extreme security measures of any airline in the world, so of course having 140 “Free Palestine” stickers on bags — clearly a coordinated effort — was going to raise some concerns, and was going to be taken seriously.
I’m not surprised by EL AL’s response to the incident, and hopefully they’re able to figure out who did this.
Bottom line
On a recent EL AL flight from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, 140 suitcases were found to have “Free Palestine” stickers on them. Since this was clearly a coordinated effort, this ended up causing some security concerns, including all bags with stickers needing to be screened for explosives.
After an extended delay, it was determined that it would take a lot longer to screen all the bags, so all 140 suitcases with the stickers ended up being left behind. That left many passengers frustrated.
They should hold and screen the bags with no stickers. The stickers could be a diversion.
this is why we have cameras everywhere and it has nothing to do with Israel or El Al as much as some rabidly take sides.
Ben is right that this kind of stuff is unacceptable.
Find out who did it and not just fire them but prosecute them and make them pay for the damages that passengers incurred because of it.
And then widely publicize the outcome.
Ok sure they can rescreen the bags if they are concerned. I'm interested to know once they found out its not a safety concern if they took off the stickers or not. Once the bags are found to not be a security concern the bags shouldn't be touched or interacted with and the stickers should've stayed on.
I've been to Israel and the west Bank. Its very sad to see how illegal and inhumane...
Ok sure they can rescreen the bags if they are concerned. I'm interested to know once they found out its not a safety concern if they took off the stickers or not. Once the bags are found to not be a security concern the bags shouldn't be touched or interacted with and the stickers should've stayed on.
I've been to Israel and the west Bank. Its very sad to see how illegal and inhumane Israel (gov) and isralies treat the Palestinian people.
Note that not all isralies are Jewish, and my comment has no other mention of religion and is not antisemitic. I just want people to get along equitably.
Well said. I too have been to Israel and West Bank, and consider it one of my most amazing vacations. If not for the way Palestinians have been treated, I would have gone back more often.
Its indeed very sad to see the way Palestinians have been treated and thrown out of their homes by the illegal settlers.
But the person who did this needs to be caught and punished.
Why is a free Palastine Sticker a security concern in the first place?
Palastine must be allowed to live, as well as Israel.
There's no such thing as "Palestine".
Mmm… if you can’t connect the dots then I don’t think any explanation will help you understand.
Agreed on allowing Palestinians their right, but an airport or airline employee should not be vandalising luggage (adding a sticker to a suitcase without the owners approval is vandalism). It was not a sticker attached by the owner of the suitcase, but by some employee.
If you left behind Israeli bags, it's antisemitism.
If you left behind Palestine bags, it's ok.
Then the extra bomb screening?
Is El Al suggesting the LAX screening is inadequate?
Is the entire flying public at risk of being bombed because normal screening isn't good enough to detect?
So someone with Palenstine tattoo should get x-ray, CT, MRI, VMware, pat down, infrared, cavity search, swab, then repeat the whole process twice?
Your dislike for EL AL, Isreal and the Israeli people is well documented EskimoBot. For once in your life do try to get real and try harder not to make yourself look like a complete numpty each time you post …. yes?
@AeroB
Instead of hurling insults at the poster, it would serve your case better to refute his arguments, otherwise you are just making yourself look like an idiot - a windbag with nothing of value to impart.
JustinBot, this “Wind bag” is simply treating EskimoBot, in exactly the same manner as he treats others who post herein, yes?
Rather than you looking like the “Idiot” for having “Nothing of value to impart”, why not take notice of your own shortcomings, yes?
@Aero
Continue to prove you are an idiot. Well done. Carry on
It seems to me that El Al's action is performative. It has nothing to do with security. And you are right, suddenly all the scanning performed, become invalid because of a sticker.
What are "Palestine" bags?
Imagine if an airline has left 140 suitcases behind because they had the flag of Israel on them.
If they were travelling to Iran it would be a completely legitimate thing to do.
Read my name.
Ben must simply love the Israeli - EL Al - Palestinian subject matter …. these click-bait articles keep him in points and points mean flights, plus reviews. We might even hit the jackpot with an EL Al review too …. yes, Ben?
Get the person who did this and make them pay for the delay! And all the people who have no luggage.
Parnel, do you not realise that up to 140 stupid passengers caused the flight disruption?
Do you not realise that up to 140 stupid passengers caused their own inconvenience and that of the other normal passengers, crew and ground staff too?
Are people really that stupid that they are incapable of forethought, of not having the common sense to know what the consequences would be?
Are people who read this article and then...
Parnel, do you not realise that up to 140 stupid passengers caused the flight disruption?
Do you not realise that up to 140 stupid passengers caused their own inconvenience and that of the other normal passengers, crew and ground staff too?
Are people really that stupid that they are incapable of forethought, of not having the common sense to know what the consequences would be?
Are people who read this article and then criticise El AL, Isreal or the airport authorities, so bleeding thick in the head that they do not realise how dangerous they are by condemning excellent security protocols?
Get real Parnel and all your Hamas propaganda swallowing cronies who condone the utter stupidity of this action and your response to it.
Shame be upon you all.
I see reading comprehension is not your strong point. The article says it was likely done by an airport worker.
So true David, I have to admit to only speed reading the article. Thank you for pointing out my faux pas.
Anyone care to guess what would happen if you tried to fly air china from Beijing with a "Free Tibet" sticker on your suitcase? Let's just say you wouldn't be leaving china anytime soon.
This is correct and the most spot on comment yet.
This person is going to have a really bad day when they are dicovered. Israel and El Al can throw the book at this person with incurred expenses
Rumor has it that Israel will retaliate by bombing all orphanages and hospitals in Gaza.
You mean orphanages and hospitals with living, breathing people inside? Hardly feels like an appropriate joke regardless how you feel about Israel, eh?
I'm embarrassed for you.
They can't find who put the stickers on the bags.
They can't find bags that have air tags on them.
And they can't find who shot Tupac.
Can they find who dropped you on your head?
You already did. Yo mama sucka.
Legitimate safety concern. Better to leave the suspicious luggage behind than cancel the flight. F around and find out.
But it ok for Israel to occupy the West Bank with Isrealie who should not be there and also murder Palestinians?
It is called consequence which is something Israel need to feel everyday!
Can Palestinians in the West Bank fly on El Al airlines? Not really. El Al is a discriminatory airline. People should not sympathy for El Al.
Also if you do not let this post be posted your views align with Trump.
To paraphrase Andy Dufrain, how can you be so obtuse?
West Bank is only occupied by "Palestinians", who came into this land not too long ago. This land belongs to Israel. Jordan is Palestine.
"murder Palestinians" - how many innocent Israelis have Palestinians killed until today?
@Ran
What utter nonsense.
Baggage areas at LAX are well covered by security cameras. Should be easy to identify the individuals. Might also be a federal / state law violated for tampering with secured baggage. Having worked at LAX, I have zero sympathy for the individual(s) involved.
There should be a huge fine.