Arkia forced to cancel Dubai repatriation flights after authorization rescinded by UAE authorities

Arkia was forced to cancel its repatriation flights from Dubai, the airline announced on Wednesday, after permission for Israeli companies' flights from Dubai was rescinded by the authorities.

According to Arkia, it possessed the required permissions until Tuesday evening, and has been futilely working in an attempt to restore the required authorization.

All passengers whose repatriation flights were canceled would be refunded the full cost of their ticket, Arkia announced.

In addition, any passengers who were able to reach a country from which flights to Israel were departing would receive a 10% discount on tickets to Israel.

Arkia's first repatriation flight to Dubai landed at Ben-Gurion Airport earlier this month after UAE authorities revoked landing permission for the El Al flight.

El Al also confirmed it would operate a special rescue flight schedule to retrieve Israelis in Dubai following the attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the airline stated last week.

Israir also announced that it was preparing to resume operations on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route, with plans to operate eight to 10 flights per week, subject to receiving all necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

UAE objects to term 'rescue flight'

A source close to the United Arab Emirates criticized the use of the term "rescue flight" by Israeli officials in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post.

“In Israel, they are talking about ‘rescue flights’ from the Emirates. ‘Rescue flights’ is a term used for a country where it is dangerous to be. That is simply not the case. Everything Israel asked for, the UAE said ‘yes.’ Flydubai agreed to fly to Israel under different protocols, similar to those used by Etihad, but the Israelis said ‘no.’”

Shir Perets, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Udi Ezion contributed to this report.