Thousands of Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates face further delays in returning home after Israeli airline El Al postponed planned repatriation flights from Dubai.
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‎The postponement followed the UAE’s withdrawal of landing permission for El Al flights in Dubai.
El Al said two flights scheduled to leave Dubai at 11:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) and 1:00 p.m. on Friday had been cancelled.
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‎The airline did not give a reason for the cancellation but said it planned to operate flights from Sunday.
‎Israeli media reported that all available seats on the planned flights had already been booked.
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‎Israeli airlines Arkia and Israir have also been chartered to help bring stranded Israelis home. Arkia had scheduled a flight for Friday, but it was not immediately clear whether it would operate.
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‎Israel’s transport ministry had earlier announced that repatriation flights would begin on Friday but warned that operations could be delayed due to factors including coordination between security agencies.
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‎Israeli media reported that more than 10,000 Israelis were stranded in Dubai and other locations. The situation followed a violent incident aboard a Flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
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‎Flydubai subsequently announced it would suspend flights to and from Israel while investigations into the incident continued.
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‎Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aircraft’s co-pilot stabbed the pilot during the altercation.
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‎The aircraft reportedly entered a nosedive before the pilot opened the cockpit door and the alleged attacker was overpowered.
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‎The aircraft later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, with another crew member in the cabin taking over the controls.
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‎The Israeli government believes the incident was an attempted jihadist terrorist attack allegedly involving the Omani co-pilot, although questions surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
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‎(dpa/NAN)
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