Israeli rescue flights from Dubai in doubt as UAE reconsiders approval

Israeli airlines preparing to fly stranded Israelis home from Dubai ran into a diplomatic obstacle on Thursday night, after authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began reconsidering permission they had already granted for the flights. Ynet reported that the first rescue flights had been scheduled to leave Dubai the following day, that tickets on El Al's flights sold out within minutes, and that Israel's Ministry of Transport and the Shin Bet security service had launched an intensive round of discussions in response.

Later reporting went further. The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew-language media, said the UAE had cancelled its authorisation for Israeli carriers to operate the flights, and that Israel's defence establishment and its Civil Aviation Authority were working with Emirati officials overnight to resolve the problem. The disruption follows the suspension of services after what The Times of Israel described as an alleged attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight the previous day.

Two accounts of where things stand

The reports do not fully agree on the status of the Emirati approval. Ynet's account, published earlier in the evening, described the UAE as reconsidering its permission and said no final decision to cancel had been made. The Times of Israel item, published several hours later and attributed to Hebrew media rather than to an official statement, said the authorisation had been withdrawn. Neither report quotes a UAE government source, and this page does not attempt to settle which description is current.

Ynet's Telegram alert channel framed the episode as a crisis in talks between Israel and the UAE ahead of the start of the flights. Dean Fisher, an aviation correspondent posting on N12's news channel, wrote that a deadline was approaching and that, without a change in the coming hours, Israeli airlines would begin cancelling their flights from the Emirates.

The airlines and agencies involved

El Al is Israel's national carrier, and Arkia is a smaller Israeli airline; according to The Times of Israel, both had been preparing to operate the repatriation flights. The Shin Bet, formally the Israel Security Agency, is Israel's domestic security service and is responsible for security arrangements on Israeli flights abroad, which helps explain its role in the discussions. The Civil Aviation Authority is the Israeli government body that regulates air travel.

Dubai is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, a federation on the Gulf, and its airport is a major international transit hub. flydubai is a budget airline based there; Emirates is Dubai's large flagship carrier.

Gulf carriers stop flying passengers to Tel Aviv

The rescue flights were planned against a wider halt in travel between Dubai and Israel. Israel Hayom reported that flydubai had cancelled flights while an investigation was under way, and that Emirates announced on Thursday it would not board any passenger whose final destination was Tel Aviv until further notice. Under that policy, such travellers would be turned away at the point where their journey began, not only on the Dubai to Tel Aviv leg.

With both Dubai-based carriers closed to Israel-bound passengers, Israelis in the UAE were left depending on the Israeli airlines' flights to get home, which is why the possible loss of Emirati authorisation drew such attention.

Restrictions on what passengers can carry

Ynet reported that, whatever happens to the authorisation, passengers on the rescue flights would not be permitted to take trolley bags or suitcases on board. The report did not explain the reason for the rule or say whether any other luggage would be allowed.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports quotes an official UAE statement explaining why the approval was reconsidered or withdrawn.
• The details of the alleged attempted hijacking of the flydubai flight, including who was involved and what investigators have found, are not described in the material.
• No report gives the number of Israelis stranded in the UAE or the number of flights and seats that had been planned.
• It is not stated whether El Al or Arkia have actually cancelled any flights, or what would happen to passengers who already bought tickets.
• The reports do not say how long the flydubai and Emirates restrictions on Tel Aviv-bound travellers are expected to last.
• The outcome of the overnight talks between Israeli and Emirati officials had not been reported at the time of the latest item.