An Israir flight scheduled to land today (Wednesday) in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, was forced to divert and land in Zagreb, Croatia, after it did not receive final authorization to land at its original destination.
The flight departed as planned from Ben Gurion Airport and was already en route to Slovenia when the diversion was ordered. It ultimately landed in neighboring Croatia, leaving passengers stranded far from their intended destination.
Israir CEO Uri Sirkis sharply criticized the decision, calling it “a blatant violation of aviation agreements and agreements with the European Union.”
“The Civil Aviation Authority is involved in the matter, but unfortunately the flight did not operate as planned,” Sirkis said.
The incident comes against the backdrop of ongoing political tensions between Israel and Slovenia. In recent years, the Slovenian government has taken an increasingly critical stance toward Israeli policy, developments that Jerusalem has closely monitored due to their impact on bilateral relations.
Israir argued that preventing the landing of a civilian passenger flight for political or diplomatic reasons would constitute an extraordinary and unprecedented step that contradicts accepted international aviation agreements and existing arrangements within the European Union.
As of now, Slovenian authorities have not provided an official explanation regarding the circumstances that led to the denial of landing permission.
The airline said it is working with Israel’s Foreign Ministry and other relevant authorities to examine the incident and assess its implications for future flights on the route.