Israeli passengers’ delay on arrival in Dubai: flydubai responds
Airline says it is reviewing matter and revalidating processes
Abu Dhabi: Israeli passengers experienced a delay on arrival at Dubai International Airport on Monday morning, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.
The passengers from Israel, who landed at Dubai International Airport on a flydubai flight from Tel Aviv, had a delay due to entry issues, as per Israeli media.
“In response to recent media reports circulating on the entry of Israeli citizens to UAE, FlyDubai has apologised to the affected passengers who experienced a delay on arrival to Dubai on Monday,” the UAE ministry said in statement.
“Flydubai is currently reviewing the reasons behind the delay and is revalidating the processes and procedures to prevent any delays to subsequent flights.”
According to Israeli media, around 200 Israeli tourists were held up in Dubai after landing due to visa issues but the problem was resolved.
Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced that within the framework of the existing cooperation between the UAE and the state of Israel and in order to facilitate travel procedures to the UAE at the present time, tourist visas have been activated for Israeli passport holders to enter the UAE through aviation, travel and tourism offices until the completion of the constitutional procedures to ratify the agreement on mutual exemption from entry visa requirements between the two countries.
“The policy permitting the entry of Israeli citizens remains unchanged, and Israeli citizens continue to be welcomed to the UAE," the ministry statement said.