Israel to Charter Flights to UAE Amid Security Concerns

Despite a request from Transportation Minister Miri Regev to freeze Flydubai flights pending an investigation, the flights will continue. The Ministry of Transport is working with the Shin Bet and Mossad to establish security protocols for Flydubai operations.

Concurrently, Israel is arranging to charter approximately 30 flights operated by Israeli companies, using foreign crews, to repatriate Israelis currently in the United Arab Emirates. This measure aims to prevent Israelis from becoming stranded, particularly as the investigation into a security incident on a Flydubai flight is ongoing. The incident involved a co-pilot who was reportedly an Omani citizen, a country without diplomatic ties with Israel, leading to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. A passenger recounted that the co-pilot stabbed two pilots, but the plane was stabilized by the passenger and two others.

Israel is still awaiting a solution for a scanning device that the Shin Bet requires to be placed in the UAE. Israeli airlines have not yet received approval to resume regular flights to the UAE. Regev's call to freeze Flydubai flights stemmed from her assertion that the airline violated the aviation agreement between Israel and the UAE, which stipulates that only pilots from countries with diplomatic relations with Israel can land in Israel.

Regev also urged the Prime Minister to allow Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, and Arkia to fly to Dubai immediately, with Israeli security screening. However, Shin Bet head David Baruch Zini reportedly insisted during an internal security discussion that UAE security checks are insufficient, reiterating his previous opposition to Israeli flights on the Dubai route. Flydubai is currently the sole airline operating flights from the UAE to Israel, as security officials have denied Israeli carriers permission to operate on this route.