Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir are set to commence special repatriation flights from Dubai starting Friday to assist Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates. This development follows the suspension of flydubai’s services to Israel after an incident involving a flydubai flight, where a copilot allegedly attacked the pilot, resulting in an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. An investigation by UAE authorities is currently underway.
These Israeli carriers will fly to Dubai empty and return with passengers who were originally scheduled on flydubai or Emirates connections. The Israeli government has pledged to compensate the airlines for operating the outbound flights without passengers. El Al plans to conduct two flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Friday, while Arkia will operate one flight. Israir is preparing additional services to meet the demand.
The fares for these one-way flights have been set at $249 for El Al, $279 for Arkia, and $299 for Israir. The airlines have been instructed to keep pricing reasonable to facilitate the return of stranded passengers. In addition to these efforts, Israel’s Transportation Ministry has requested that Etihad Airways provide extra flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv to further assist in the repatriation process.
For those unable to return directly via Dubai, alternative routes are being offered through European cities and nearby hubs such as Athens and Larnaca. However, some travelers may need to arrange their onward flights to Israel separately, depending on their specific circumstances.