Africa-Press – South-Africa. WARSAW — The South African charter aircraft that has effectively been impounded by Polish authorities here since Thursday remains stuck on the tarmac, with passengers and the crew now eking out a strange living among the dimly lit aisles and galleys of the plane.
On Thursday, Polish authorities refused to allow South African security personnel — transported here to provide President Cyril Ramaphosa’s safety during his visit to Ukraine and Russia — to disembark, throwing the police and SA National Defence Force’s operational plans into disarray.
He is scheduled to meet that country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Friday.
Ramaphosa landed at around the same time as the security team’s SAA charter, and made a courtesy visit to the Polish president on Thursday afternoon, before departing on his official plane for the south of Poland.
He embarked on the Kyiv leg of his trip while the security personnel were still sitting on the plane in the Polish capital.
Polish authorities did not allow the group, comprising specialist security personnel, including senior security staff and leadership, to disembark while South African officials scrambled to make alternative arrangements.
It is understood that the president is travelling with his close security detail amid the standoff at Chopin International Airport.
On Thursday night, General Wally Rhoode, head of the Presidential Protection Service, angrily accused Polish authorities of “sabotage” and “racism”.
He held an impromptu press conference on the steps of the plane, detailing Poland’s efforts to frustrate the South Africans’ movements.
While officials from the South African embassy in Warsaw were trying to negotiate with Polish police and customs, Rhoode explained how the Poles repeatedly demanded new documents, different permits and often refused to speak English.
A black, female member of the Presidential Protection Services (PPS), stationed in Poland, was even strip-searched before she was allowed onto the plane, causing deep anger and resentment among top brass on the plane.
A livid Rhoode repeated that it confirmed the Poles’ “racist” handling of the South African plane and passengers.
Aboard the stuffy SAA A340-300 plane, conditions are starting to resemble a refugee camp.
Passengers have not left the plane since around 23:00 on Wednesday, and although water and take-away food were delivered, supplies have now been depleted.
Unwashed security personnel, SAA staff and journalists have been forced to shape a grim existence on the plane, walking up and down the aisles and using different toilets for distraction.
The South African embassy provided Burger King meals for passengers on Thursday night after the crew ran out of Salticrax crackers in the afternoon.
News24, however, managed to set foot on Polish soil when we joined unidentified passengers and a Polish ground crew member for a crafty cigarette behind the terminal building in the early hours of the morning.
There has been no official communication from the Polish authorities. There is also no indication of when, or if, the plane will leave.
This is a developing story.
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