The Israeli airline “El Al“ has canceled emergency flights from Dubai scheduled for Friday, which were to return Israeli citizens stranded in the United Arab Emirates. The decision was made against the backdrop of the temporary suspension of “Flydubai“ flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv following the serious incident on board one of the company's planes, BTA reports.
“El Al“ confirmed that the flights scheduled for Friday have been canceled, without specifying a new date. The Israeli Ministry of Transport explained that additional coordination with the UAE security authorities is required to organize emergency flights.
The airline is still showing flights from Dubai starting on Sunday, but seats for next week are sold out. Thus, the options for quickly repatriating all stranded passengers remain limited.
The reason for the interruption of air communication is the incident with flight FZ1073 of “Flydubai“ from Dubai to Tel Aviv. On September 30, while the plane was in the air, the co-pilot attacked the captain and, according to preliminary data, attempted to take control of the plane. The plane lost significant altitude for a short time before passengers and crew members intervened.
The seriously injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, which allowed passengers and other pilots on board to intervene. The plane subsequently made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All on board survived.
According to “Reuters“ the plane was carrying 174 people, including 166 Israeli citizens. Saudi, Emirati, Israeli and other competent authorities are investigating the incident, including possible motives and a possible link to terrorist activity. No definitive reason has been established for the actions of the co-pilot at this time.
Flydubai temporarily suspended its flights between the UAE and Israel following the incident, further complicating the return of Israeli citizens remaining in Dubai.