Salzburg veterinarian Anton Pacher-Theinburg was on a pilgrimage to Israel when the bloody Hamas attack began from Gaza. In an interview with krone.at, the 62-year-old talks about his experiences, the anxious moments at Tel Aviv Airport before the flight back to Austria and the courageous support from the Austrian embassy.
krone.at: The most important question first: How are you feeling now? Anton Pacher-Theinburg: I’m incredibly relieved to have gotten out safely. But I’m still very tense and nervous. Why were you in Israel? I was on a pilgrimage with a group of 39 people in Abu Gosh, about 45 minutes by car from Tel Aviv. The launch took place on September 30th. Our return flight with Ryanair was planned for Monday (October 9th). How did you find out about the Hamas attack on Saturday? We were in our pilgrim house when it started. The detonations were unmistakable in the plain outside Tel Aviv, where we were stationed. You could also clearly see the clouds of smoke. The sirens were constantly wailing and we were asked twice to go to an air raid shelter. On Sunday the situation calmed down and detonations could be heard every now and then. I assumed that I would be able to fly back to Austria on Monday as planned. I thought that the Israelis had everything under control again. But that was obviously not the case. How did Monday develop? We actually wanted to go to the Dead Sea. Then it was said that there were numerous attacks. The tour company advised us against the trip. We then noticed that thousands of rockets were being fired at Gaza. However, check-in for the return flight was possible and I headed towards Tel Aviv Airport. And I got there relatively quickly; there were no roadblocks yet. What was the situation like when they arrived at the airport? There were a lot of people there and you could feel the nervousness. Many believing Jews wanted to leave. I got through security relatively quickly. But then it started. What happened then? Suddenly the siren went off in the large waiting room in front of the gates and mass panic broke out. Women were crying and screaming for their children, there was complete chaos. I had no idea where to run. Within five minutes the waiting room was empty. We were all asked to go to a shelter. It was a concrete room that wasn’t equipped at all, it just offered protection. There was no information, there was uncertainty, many people were shaking and extremely tense. After five minutes we were allowed out again. At first it seemed as if everything would go back to normal with the flights. Only then did the rude awakening come. To what extent? My flight was canceled after two hours because it turned out that there had been an attack near the airport and the Ryanair plane was already approaching Tel Aviv. However, the plane continued to Cyprus for safety reasons. And that’s why everyone from the gates had to go back to the entrance area of the airport. There was panic again, many people screamed desperately, it was very unpleasant. What did you do then? On the scoreboard I only heard canceled flights. I was told that the only way to get a ticket for a flight to Vienna now was with the El Al airline. Only: There was already a huge queue of people in front of the ticket counter. I got in line, but an officer told me that I no longer had a chance of getting a ticket. I was desperate. Then the Austrian embassy suddenly called me on my cell phone. What did they tell you? I had already registered in advance and said that I was dependent on medication for my new kidney and that I only had some with me until Saturday. This was noticed and I was told that there were three embassy employees at the airport looking after Austrians. The three of them were less than 40 meters away from me. Then I suddenly felt very safe again. Did the embassy staff take care of you? Yes, they were great, my guardian angels. They were even able to get me a ticket for the flight to Vienna very quickly; it was the last one for Monday evening. A weight fell from my heart. The employees then escorted me through security checks and I was at the relevant gate almost four hours before departure. To be on the safe side, I sat right at the front, not to worry about overbooking. I slowly thought that I had made it, but then there was a moment of horror. Can you tell us this one? When the ticket was scanned, the device glowed red. They explained to me that I wasn’t checked in. I do not know why. But the El Al employees were very nice and promised me that they would take me with them if there was still space in the plane. All the passengers walked past me and I was sure the plane would be full. I was the last one at the gate, but miraculously there was still a free seat on the plane and I was allowed to board. Then everything actually happened very quickly. There were almost only Jewish citizens on the plane who wanted to go to Vienna. Please briefly describe your state of mind when the plane took off. It was a pure feeling of relief. When we flew over the sea, I knew that nothing could happen now. Was anyone waiting for you at Vienna Airport? Yes, my wife and my youngest daughter. The plane arrived just after 2 a.m. It was an incredible feeling to be able to hug both of them again. Since my roaming at the airport in Tel Aviv was no longer intact, I was unable to contact them for hours. Luckily, they used an app to repeatedly check when flights from Tel Aviv to Vienna were taking off. On the last plane they were sure I was there. Then they set off for Vienna. And then you went straight back to Salzburg? Yes, I was full of adrenaline. So I got behind the wheel of my car myself. I could have driven all night long. The next day I started my job again as an official veterinarian for the Salzburg state government. Have you received any signs of life from your fellow pilgrims? Yes. 37 have already returned, two are still in Israel. They told me that a rocket had hit near the pilgrims’ house and several people were injured. I hope that the situation does not escalate further and other states have to intervene. And I also hope that the Israelis don’t act too brutally against civilians.
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