Haifa Cable Car Strands Dozens for Over Two Hours

Dozens of passengers were stranded in the air on Haifa's Cable Car Line 27 for over two hours on Thursday evening due to a malfunction. This incident occurred just two days after the cable car resumed operations following maintenance work. The breakdown affected both sections of the line. While the lower section was operational again after an hour and a half, the upper section remained shut down for an additional thirty minutes. Fire and rescue services prepared for a complex rescue operation, which ultimately proved unnecessary. Itzik Nahaeh, a resident of Ashdod, was in a cabin on the lower section with his wife Karen. He described the experience as a "nightmare" and "unpleasant moments" after being stuck for about an hour and a half while traveling from the "Haifa Central Bus Station" towards the university. Kusai, who was with his friend Amon on the upper section, documented the frightening moments, stating, "We are stuck here on the cable car, there are malfunctions, not good air. It's really scary. We called for help and they hung up on us."

This is not the first malfunction for the cable car, which opened in April 2022 at a cost of over 330 million shekels. Six months after its opening, an electrical fault stranded dozens of passengers for about an hour on the longest segment, connecting "Haifa Central Bus Station and Check Post" to the Technion and Haifa University. No danger was reported to passengers during that previous incident.