UAE Official Criticizes Israel's 'Rescue Flight' Terminology

A source close to the United Arab Emirates has criticized Israel's use of the term "rescue flights" for flights originating from the UAE, stating in a conversation with i24NEWS on Friday that such terminology is reserved for dangerous countries, which the UAE is not. The source emphasized that the UAE has agreed to all of Israel's requests, noting that FlyDubai had agreed to fly to Israel under different protocols, similar to Etihad, but that Israeli authorities had refused. The "rescue flights" began departing from Dubai earlier on Friday, following reported delays. Initially, airlines informed passengers of postponements due to the cancellation of landing permits for Israeli companies in Dubai, though these were eventually reissued. Arkia announced that at the request of Transportation Minister Yari Regev, the airline was working to operate three additional flights over the weekend beyond its scheduled services. El Al also stated it was preparing to operate special rescue flights from Dubai on Friday as approved, but that permits were unexpectedly canceled, forcing the airline to inform customers of the cancellation and that it was seeking permits for Saturday evening. A crisis had emerged between Israel and the UAE the previous night over security arrangements concerning the rescue flights, despite earlier agreements. Negotiations continued through the night, with a compromise reached on Friday morning.