Emirates and Flydubai Halt Ticket Sales for Flights to Israel
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Emirates and Flydubai have stopped selling tickets for flights to and from Israel until further notice, following a security incident on a Flydubai plane. The airlines are blocking bookings for Israeli passport holders on connecting flights through Dubai. This impacts Israelis traveling to the Far East, who previously used Dubai as a major transit hub. Alternative routes now involve longer layovers or direct flights with Israeli carriers to intermediate destinations.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Emirates and Flydubai have suspended ticket sales for flights involving Israel until further notice.
- The airlines are blocking Israeli passport holders from booking connecting flights through Dubai.
- The decision follows a security incident on a Flydubai flight where a co-pilot attempted a hijacking.
- Dubai had become a key transit hub for Israelis traveling to the Far East after October 7.
- Israeli travelers must now find alternative, potentially more costly, routes to their destinations.
- Israeli airlines are also reportedly barred from flying to Dubai, further limiting options.
A security incident on a Flydubai flight to Israel has led to significant travel disruptions for Israeli passengers. Following an attempt by a co-pilot to hijack the aircraft, which was thwarted by Israeli passengers, Emirates, the parent company of Flydubai, has implemented new restrictions. Initially, Emirates prohibited Israeli passport holders from boarding flights connecting through Dubai to Tel Aviv. This measure left many Israelis stranded in distant locations, such as Thailand, unable to return home.
On Monday, the airline escalated these restrictions by completely blocking the purchase of tickets for any routes involving Israel until further notice. While Emirates had previously announced a cancellation of flights to Israel until the end of November, the current block on booking future travel is unannounced. Emirates has stated that it will not sell tickets on its website to Israeli customers until its subsidiary, Flydubai, receives official approval for flights to Israel.
This decision is a major blow to Israeli travelers, as Dubai had become a primary and popular transit hub for flights to the Far East, especially after Turkey ceased direct flights to Israel following October 7. Israelis seeking to travel to or from Israel now face the challenge of finding alternative, potentially more expensive and time-consuming, travel arrangements.
An examination of the Emirates website confirms the unavailability of flights. A random search for a flight from Tel Aviv to Delhi in August 2027 showed that booking options were entirely locked, with no flights appearing in the search results. Additionally, Israeli airlines are reportedly barred from flying to Dubai, further limiting options for Israelis. Travelers to destinations like Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines must now consider alternative layovers in cities such as Addis Ababa, Tashkent, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt, or opt for direct flights with Arkia or El Al to Bangkok, followed by shorter connecting flights.
