October 8, 2026 — Update: Israel has turned down flydubai’s request to resume Tel Aviv flights, and on October 7 the UAE revoked the Dubai landing permits of Israeli airlines. There are now no flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv on any carrier.
What happened
What changed since our October 5 report:
- Israel said no to flydubai. Israeli television reported, via the Times of Israel, that flydubai asked to restart Tel Aviv flights about a week after the September 30 incident on flight FZ1073. Transportation Minister Miri Regev declined for now.
- The UAE pulled Israeli carriers’ permits. On Wednesday, October 7, El Al, Israir and Arkia cancelled their remaining Dubai–Tel Aviv repatriation flights through October 8. About 1,000 ticketed passengers were affected. The UAE gave no reason.
- Saudi Arabia has opened a safety investigation into the FZ1073 event, airliners.de reports, citing three sources. The aircraft diverted to Tabuk.
flydubai’s Tel Aviv flights are suspended at least through October 14 at the authorities’ request, the Times of Israel reports. Before the suspension the airline flew 10 daily Tel Aviv flights with about 170 passengers each. Emirates’ codeshare on those flights is also suspended.
Israel’s Transportation Ministry said on October 6 that at least 7,415 of roughly 10,000 stranded passengers had returned. Arkia is giving full refunds. The remaining route home is Etihad through Abu Dhabi, which now flies eight times a day to Tel Aviv.
Israel is also considering new security rules for inbound flights. One proposal would require crew and passenger details 48 hours before departure from some countries. It has not been confirmed as adopted.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| flydubai Dubai–Tel Aviv | Suspended at least through October 14 |
| El Al, Israir, Arkia from Dubai | Cancelled through October 8; resumption TBA |
| Etihad Abu Dhabi–Tel Aviv | Operating, eight daily flights |
| Israeli 48-hour pre-clearance rule | Proposed; not confirmed |
What it means for travelers
- No Dubai–Tel Aviv flights exist right now. The only UAE–Israel flights are Etihad’s from Abu Dhabi, and they are carrying the repatriation traffic.
- Expect Etihad’s Tel Aviv flights to be full until flydubai returns.
- Watch the proposed 48-hour rule. If Israel adopts it, last-minute bookings into Tel Aviv would become much harder.
- flydubai travellers elsewhere on the network are not affected by the Tel Aviv suspension, though Abha flights were also cancelled this week.
Sources
- The Times of Israel, Dubai repatriation flights nixed after UAE pulls landing permit for Israeli carriers
- The Times of Israel, Flydubai requests OK to resume Israel flights as investigation wraps, but Regev says no — report
- airliners.de, Saudi-Arabien leitet Sicherheitsuntersuchung zum Cockpit-Angriff bei Flydubai ein
- Ynetnews, 1,240 aircrew members from countries with no ties to Israel entered over past year
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