Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir are set to operate special repatriation flights from Dubai this Friday to assist Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates. This development comes in the wake of flydubai’s suspension of its services to Israel following a mid-flight incident involving a copilot allegedly attacking the pilot, which led to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The UAE authorities are currently investigating the incident.
These repatriation flights will see the Israeli airlines flying from Tel Aviv to Dubai without passengers and returning with Israeli nationals who had been scheduled to return via flydubai or Emirates. The Israeli government has pledged to compensate the airlines for the cost of operating the outbound flights without passengers.
El Al plans to run two Dubai-Tel Aviv flights on Friday, while Arkia is arranging one flight. Israir is also preparing additional services to meet the demand. Ticket prices for these flights have been set at $249 for El Al, $279 for Arkia, and $299 for Israir, with a directive to maintain reasonable pricing for travelers.
In addition to the flights from Dubai, Israel’s Transportation Ministry has requested extra flights from Etihad Airways on the Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv route to facilitate the return of stranded passengers. Alternative travel arrangements are being offered through European destinations and nearby hubs such as Athens and Larnaca, though some passengers might need to organize their own onward flights to Israel.