First Israeli Flight Departs Dubai After Resolving Luggage Dispute

Earlier, Emirati authorities had imposed a requirement that a cargo plane accompany each passenger flight to Israel, tasked with transporting passengers' luggage. This logistical hurdle was resolved, enabling the Arkia flight to take off. Israir Airlines is also expected to operate a flight later. Flydubai had previously announced the suspension of all its flights to Israel until further notice, extending an earlier suspension until October 15. Etihad Airways announced it would operate two additional flights from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on Saturday to assist in returning passengers. Arkia had initially postponed its empty flight intended to bring Israelis back from Dubai due to the cargo plane demand, which the UAE insisted on for all upcoming flights. An Emirati official criticized Israel, stating that "Israel is exploiting the incident for political purposes and delaying Flydubai's return flights." He argued that Israel was using the term "rescue flights" unnecessarily, as there was no war, and suggested that the same protocols used for Etihad flights could be applied to Flydubai. The official also accused Israel of stalling the resolution of the crisis, suggesting that the upcoming Israeli elections were influencing the situation. He questioned why Arkia flights were permitted if Flydubai flights were not, and asserted that Israel was exacerbating the situation. The Emirati official claimed that while the UAE was conducting its own investigation into the Omani pilot's actions and cooperating with efforts to resolve the crisis, Israel was deliberately delaying the process. He acknowledged a "malfunction" but stated that Israel did not grasp the implications of the incident for the UAE, adding that Abu Dhabi felt Israel's government did not understand its actions. The official suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be linking the incident to Iran for political gain ahead of the elections, creating a perception of crisis for political benefit.