Operation Neon: the planes sent by Poland to Israel to evacuate its tourists

@DefAviation ES 10·09·2023 · 12:20 0

The Hamas terrorist attack against Israel has led many airlines to suspend flights to Israeli airports.

The Polish Air Force exercise to operate on roads in case of attack
Silent and dark: this is the GROM, the most famous of the Polish special forces

This has left many foreign tourists trapped on Israeli soil, and also many Israeli tourists abroad who currently do not have the possibility of returning to their country. The Spanish government foisted the problem on the airlines, asking Spanish citizens to Contact your airline or travel agent before traveling to Ben Gurion Airport.

On the contrary, the Polish government organized the so-called Operation Neon, an evacuation with military aircraft, specifically with two Lockheed C-130E Hercules and a Boeing 737-800, used by the Polish government as executive transport. Polish special forces soldiers have flown on these planes, as a protective force to provide security for evacuees, in addition to a team of military doctors from the special forces.

The two C-130Es, belonging to the 14th Aviation Squadron of the Polish Air Force, were sent to Israel from their base in Powidz this Sunday. Likewise, the Boeing 737-800 was sent from its base in Warsaw. Here we can see images of the 737 in Warsaw at the time of takeoff bound for Ben Gurion International Airport. The images were released by the Minister of National Defense of Poland, Mariusz Błaszczak, on yesterday afternoon.

The Polish Ministry of National Defense has also today released a series of photos of one of the C-130Es that have participated in Operation Neon. The C-130Es seen in the photos are 1503 and 1505. This morning, The 1503 landed in Warsaw carrying 120 Polish tourists, as reported by the Ministry of National Defense.

"We are prepared to ensure that Polish tourists currently in Israel return home quickly and efficiently. Two Hercules aircraft are ready. If necessary, we will increase the number of aircraft or "We will create an evacuation bridge and hire CASA transport planes," Błaszczak said yesterday in statements published by the Polish military newspaper Polska Zbrojna.

This is not the first time that the Polish Air Force has participated in an evacuation of this type, and it has not been its longest mission. Let us remember that in September 2021, two Polish C-130s and members of the Polish special operations group GROM they flew to Kabul during the evacuation of Afghanistan, managing to save 1,073 people. Below these lines we see Polish Air Force personnel receiving Polish tourists evacuated from Israel.

Below these lines we can see 1503, one of the two Polish C-130Es sent to Israel.

+ UPDATED 1:46 p.m.: The Polish Ministry of National Defense has just published more images of the evacuation. You can see them below.

The Boeing 737-800 of the Polish Air Force at Ben Gurion International Airport, this Sunday night. The plane carries a portrait of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the first head of state of the Republic of Poland after its independence in 1918.

One of the crew members of the Polish Boeing 737-800 checking the wings of the plane at Ben Gurion International Airport, before taking off.

The rear ramp of the Polish C-130E, after its arrival in Israel and before the boarding of the evacuated tourists.

Polish tourists boarding one of the two C-130E sent by the Polish Air Force to Israel.

The tourists evacuated inside a Polish C-130E. They were seated in the seats used for troop transport, which provide greater cargo capacity to the plane.

A Polish C-130E at Ben Gurion International Airport, in a photo taken by Piotr Gubernat.

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Photos: Mariusz Błaszczak / Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej / Piotr Gubernat.