Economy
Israeli government to approve up to 9 million shekels to bring Israelis home from Dubai
FlyDubai suspended its flights to Israel on September 30, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded in Dubai with no available solution. According to a Transportation Ministry proposal, the state will participate, if necessary, in the cost of flying empty planes to Dubai and finance the transfer of passengers' luggage to Israel on separate cargo aircraft. The arrangement will remain in effect until October 8 or until FlyDubai resumes flights.
· Source: Maariv. Photo as published in article
The government is expected to approve today a relief mechanism of up to 9 million shekels for Israeli airlines operating flights from Dubai to Israel, following FlyDubai's suspension of flights that left thousands of Israelis without an available way to return home.
According to the Cabinet decision proposal distributed by the Transportation Ministry, the state will participate, if necessary, in the cost of flying empty planes from Israel to Dubai and will also finance the transfer of passengers' luggage to Israel on separate cargo aircraft. In the explanatory notes it states that FlyDubai, which operates about 10 regular daily flights between Dubai and Israel, suspended its flights on September 30 'following an attempted aircraft hijacking by a FlyDubai pilot.'
Israeli airlines began operating flights to bring Israelis back on October 2, but according to guidelines, planes are required to fly from Israel to Dubai without passengers, and at this stage passengers' luggage cannot be loaded into the aircraft. The Transportation Ministry is concerned that the cost of the empty flight segment will make the flights economically unviable. The solution the ministry proposes is a 'safety net' for airlines: the state will participate in expenses only if passenger revenues do not cover flight costs.
The total cost of the operation will be capped at 9 million shekels: 5.5 million shekels will come from funds allocated in a government decision to implement coalition agreements for 2026, and an additional 3.5 million shekels will come from the Transportation Ministry budget. The arrangement will be in effect until October 8, or until FlyDubai resumes flights to Israel, whichever comes first.
The finance and defense ministers agree with the proposal. Because it is brought to the Cabinet during an election period, the Transportation Ministry's legal advisor determined that the decision is required due to extraordinary circumstances, the need for a quick solution, the brief duration of assistance and its limited scope, and therefore 'there is no legal objection to approving the proposal at this time.'
Source: Maariv
