If direct flights between Moscow and Tel Aviv ever materialize, Jews departing the Soviet Union may find a Russian-speaking flight attendant on El Al.
That at least is the ambition of Nina Kugiatev, 30, who was a stewardess for nine years with the Soviet airline Aeroflot before making aliyah.
She and her husband, Boris, 26, arrived in Israel as immigrants themselves only a month ago. He was an air traffic controller at Leningrad’s international airport.
“I would like to work for El Al serving Soviet immigrants,” Nina said in a recent interview. “My great dream is to fly as a stewardess on the first Moscow-Tel Aviv El Al flight.”
But first she will have to learn Hebrew. Nina and her husband are taking intensive courses in Tel Aviv, where they live in a small apartment.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
