Israel Launches Flights to Bring Home Travelers Stuck in UAE After Flight Incident

Israel is starting repatriation flights on Friday to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates. ## Travel Disruption Commercial travel between Israel and the UAE was suspended after an attack on a pilot by his copilot. The copilot tried to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flight this week. ## Security Concerns The incident happened on board a flydubai flight on Wednesday and nearly killed all 182 people on board after the aircraft departed from Dubai. Authorities in Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond are now dealing with the fallout from the event, which raises questions about aviation security. ## Investigation and Permits Nothing is publicly known about the motive of the copilot, and a regional investigation is underway. The UAE cancelled all flights to Israel, which created travel problems for hundreds of daily passengers. Israel and the UAE agreed on the repatriation flights after an Israeli official stated the UAE was holding up landing permits for the national carrier El Al. Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv listed Arkia and Israir with flights arriving from Dubai late Friday and early Saturday, while El Al is expected to fly passengers on Sunday. ## Context Dubai became a popular destination for travelers from Israel after both countries established diplomatic ties in 2020 through the Abraham Accords. The current travel disruptions take place against a backdrop of regional tensions linked to the ongoing US-Iran war.