Israel Seeks Saudi Approval for Tabuk Airport Passenger Evacuation
Israel requested permission from Saudi Arabia to send transport aircraft to evacuate Israeli citizens stranded at Tabuk Airport. The Israeli government had prepared up to three Hercules aircraft for the mission, but Saudi authorities denied landing clearance. Riyadh also refused to approve a civilian airliner from El Al for the evacuation.
Ultimately, flydubai was authorized to transport the passengers back to Israel. A flydubai aircraft has landed at Tabuk Airport to pick up passengers who were rerouted there after their original flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted. Hebrew-language media reported that most of the passengers are Israeli citizens.
These passengers have begun boarding the flydubai flight, which is expected to bring them back to Israel. Israeli authorities had explored the possibility of conducting the evacuation independently, but this option was not feasible after Saudi Arabia's refusal.
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