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‘spasiba’ for Flying El Al?

July 9, 1990
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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.

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