The Transportation Ministry has arranged with the Shin Bet and the Mossad to operate up to 30 charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to bring home Israelis stranded in Dubai following the serious stabbing attempt aboard a commercial flight.
The flights will be operated by Israeli companies but with foreign flight crews, and are expected to depart in the coming days until the investigation into the Fly Dubai stabbing incident is completed.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev requested that Fly Dubai flights be suspended until the investigation is finished, a process expected to take about three days, but the flights have not been grounded at this stage. The ministry is working in parallel to develop a solution that would allow flights to continue under a security arrangement supervised by the Shin Bet and the Mossad.
Under the arrangement, the Shin Bet has given temporary approval to operate up to 30 charter flights, in order to prevent a situation in which Israelis remain stuck in the United Arab Emirates. However, Israeli airlines still do not have clearance to operate regular scheduled flights to Dubai, contrary to reports on the matter.
At the same time, no solution has yet been found for the Shin Bet's demand to station a screening device in the United Arab Emirates. Regev has demanded that El Al, Israir and Arkia be allowed to operate the Dubai route immediately, with Israeli security checks carried out on the ground.
But in an internal security discussion, Shin Bet chief David Zinni opposed allowing Israeli airlines to fly the route, arguing that the security screening apparatus in the United Arab Emirates is insufficient. As of now, Fly Dubai remains the only carrier operating flights from the Emirates to Israel, in accordance with the directives of the security services.
