Fly Dubai terror attempt

El Al cancels Dubai rescue flights

Israeli carrier forced to ground emergency flights after UAE authorities withdrew landing clearance, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded across Asia and beyond following Fly Dubai terror attempt

Gila Isaacson

OCT 2, 2026 10:17

2 min read

El Al announced Friday morning that rescue flights scheduled for today have been cancelled after the airline no longer has clearance to land in Dubai.

The carrier said in a statement that "in light of the cancellation of landing permits for Israeli airlines in Dubai, as we were informed by the authorities in Israel, we are forced to cancel at this stage our rescue flights that were planned for today, Friday, May 2."

"If approval is received from the official authorities, we will act to carry out the special flights to Dubai and bring Israelis home as soon as possible," the statement added.

The announcement came after the United Arab Emirates revoked landing permits for the rescue flights at the last minute.

Emirates announced Thursday evening that passengers whose final destination is Tel Aviv will not be permitted to board the carrier's flights at point of origin, following the suspension of its codeshare flights with Fly Dubai to and from Israel.

Many Israelis fly with Emirates, particularly to the Far East, with a stopover at Abu Dhabi airport. As a result, thousands of Israelis are now stranded at various destinations without a way to return home.

Fly Dubai has suspended all flights to and from Israel while authorities continue investigating the unusual incident on flight FZ1073. The carrier said the suspension will remain in effect during the investigation and that it continues to coordinate its steps with the relevant authorities.