A commercial flight from Moscow to Tel-Aviv by a private Israeli airline Arkia was delayed because the crew had no Russian visas, local media reported on Wednesday.The plane was en route Eilat-St. Petersburg-Moscow Tel Aviv, said the Interfax news agency.According to the Russian air transportation authority Rosaviation, part of the rout from the St. Petersburg to Moscow is considered as a domestic flight, which means the foreign crew must obtain Russian entry clearance prior to operating within the country’s air space.

However, Arika’s management did not bother to provide the crew with the visas, the source in the Russian Federal Border Service explained.Nonetheless Rosaviation allowed the plane to complete the flight “as an exceptional case, said the report.As a retaliatory act, Israeli authorities blocked the departure of two Russian Transaero flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow, although their crews had all the necessary documents for entry permission. Rosaviation called that Israeli decision inadequate.Russia and Israel waved the visa requirements for their citizens visiting the respective countries as tourists, in 2008. On Wednesday, a similar agreement was announced between Russia and Turkey.