Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir are set to launch special repatriation flights from Dubai beginning Friday, aiming to bring home Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates. This move comes after flydubai suspended its services to Israel following a significant incident involving one of its flights.
The suspension was triggered by an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv reportedly experienced an altercation between the copilot and the pilot. UAE authorities are currently investigating this incident.
In response, the Israeli airlines will operate flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai without passengers and return with Israeli nationals who were scheduled to return on flydubai or through Emirates connections. To support this effort, the Israeli government will compensate the carriers for the outbound flights without passengers.
El Al has announced two flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Friday, with Arkia planning one flight and Israir preparing additional services. The airlines have been instructed to maintain reasonable pricing, with one-way fares set at $249 for El Al, $279 for Arkia, and $299 for Israir.
In addition to these efforts, Israel’s Transportation Ministry has requested additional flights from Etihad Airways between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv to accommodate stranded passengers. Travelers unable to return directly via Dubai are being offered alternative routes through European cities and nearby hubs such as Athens and Larnaca. However, some may need to arrange their onward flights to Israel separately.