Thousands of Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates face further delays in returning home after Israeli airline El Al postponed planned repatriation flights from Dubai.

The postponement followed the UAE’s withdrawal of landing permission for El Al flights in Dubai.
El Al said two flights scheduled to leave Dubai at 11:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) and 1:00 p.m. on Friday had been cancelled.

The airline did not give a reason for the cancellation but said it planned to operate flights from Sunday.
Israeli media reported that all available seats on the planned flights had already been booked.

Israeli airlines Arkia and Israir have also been chartered to help bring stranded Israelis home. Arkia had scheduled a flight for Friday, but it was not immediately clear whether it would operate.

Israel’s transport ministry had earlier announced that repatriation flights would begin on Friday but warned that operations could be delayed due to factors including coordination between security agencies.

Israeli media reported that more than 10,000 Israelis were stranded in Dubai and other locations. The situation followed a violent incident aboard a Flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Flydubai subsequently announced it would suspend flights to and from Israel while investigations into the incident continued.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aircraft’s co-pilot stabbed the pilot during the altercation.

The aircraft reportedly entered a nosedive before the pilot opened the cockpit door and the alleged attacker was overpowered.

The aircraft later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, with another crew member in the cabin taking over the controls.

The Israeli government believes the incident was an attempted jihadist terrorist attack allegedly involving the Omani co-pilot, although questions surrounding the incident remain under investigation.

(dpa/NAN)