Israeli airlines are still barred from operating flights to Dubai under a security directive set to expire October 31. That means Israeli carriers remain grounded on the route—though Israeli passengers can still reach Dubai on foreign airlines including flydubai and Etihad. The problem could become far more serious for those who’ve already booked flights in the coming months. Right now, Israeli airlines are still selling tickets to Dubai for November and beyond, but if the security restriction is extended, those flights won’t operate and the tickets could be canceled.
In that scenario, thousands of passengers who already bought tickets could find themselves without a scheduled flight. The central question now is whether the restriction will be lifted by the end of October, or extended to affect November’s flight schedule and beyond. But what’s behind the decision, and why can Israelis fly to Dubai on foreign carriers while Israeli airlines can’t operate the routes? According to senior aviation industry sources who spoke to C14, the reason isn’t a specific concern about attacks on flight crews or aircraft.
According to those sources, the difficulty stems from disagreements between Israeli and Dubai security systems regarding procedures and required approvals at the airport. As long as the dispute between the two sides isn’t resolved, Israeli airlines won’t be able to resume flights to the destination. This also isn’t the first time a security directive has affected Israeli and foreign carriers differently. About a year ago, Israeli airlines were banned from landing in Paphos, Cyprus following a Shin Bet security directive, but in that case the flights weren’t canceled entirely—they were diverted to Larnaca.
Larnaca is about an hour’s drive from Paphos, so passengers could still reach the area. Meanwhile, foreign airlines were allowed to continue operating flights with passengers from Israel to Paphos, so the directive mainly affected Israeli carriers. The gap stems partly from how Israeli airlines operate under Israeli security requirements and directives. When a security decision is made banning flights to a certain destination, Israeli carriers are required to comply.
Foreign airlines, by contrast, are subject to the regulatory and security systems of the countries where they’re registered and the rules that apply to them. So you can have a situation where an Israeli flight can’t operate to a certain destination while a foreign carrier continues to fly the same route.
This situation has implications for Israeli passengers. During periods when restrictions are imposed on Israeli carriers, options for direct flights may shrink, but in some cases it’s still possible to reach the destination via foreign airlines.
Even during wartime the picture can flip. Foreign airlines may stop flying to Israel due to the security situation, while Israeli carriers continue operating some flights. So for Israeli passengers, the question isn’t just which airlines fly to a destination, but also which restrictions apply to them.
In Dubai’s case, right now it’s still possible to reach the destination via foreign carriers, but Israeli airlines are blocked from operating flights. For those who’ve already booked tickets for November or later months, the central question is whether the restriction will be lifted by then—or extended once again.