Air France To Passengers: Lend Us Cash For Fuel

Be glad you weren’t on Air France Flight 562 on Wednesday: Tensions near its destination—the Beirut airport—and a shortage of fuel forced it to land in nearby Damascus. The airline had to negotiate for fuel, according to another passenger, “because Air France doesn’t fly to Damascus at the moment and so it doesn’t have an account” at that airport.

A crew attempt to pay by credit card was foiled by sanctions against Syria; it’s not clear how the fuel was ultimately obtained. But “they found a solution to the problem,” says a man who was on board.

An Air France rep today noted that the crew inquired about passenger cash only as a “precautionary measure” because of the “very unusual circumstances.”