The first rescue flight landed Monday morning at Ben Gurion Airport carrying about 330 Israelis evacuated from Dubai, after being stranded in the United Arab Emirates for more than a week since the start of the war.
Another flight with hundreds of additional passengers is expected to land later in the day. At the same time, Israeli airline Israir said it operated another rescue flight Sunday night, its third, to bring back its passengers from Dubai.
A Boeing 777 operated by Aquiline International took off from Dubai overnight and landed in Israel in the morning as part of a plan coordinated by Israel’s Transportation Ministry together with authorities in the United Arab Emirates.
The flight included families with children, women and elderly passengers, groups that received priority in the evacuation operation.
Yossi, one of the passengers who returned to Israel with his family, told Ynet after landing: “It was very stressful. Thank God this unsettling experience is finally over.”
According to him, the family left their hotel early Sunday morning to reach Dubai’s airport, but the flight was repeatedly delayed without explanation.
“Only around 1 a.m. did the plane finally take off,” he said. “Spending long hours at the airport with small children when the situation is very tense is not simple. There were also missile alerts and no protected space. The whole way we just prayed to land in Israel. There’s nothing like finally getting home.”
Additional rescue flights planned
Another rescue flight from Dubai carrying about 330 passengers is expected to land later Monday at Ben Gurion Airport.
At the same time, another flight from Dubai carrying Israelis stranded in the UAE for more than a week is expected to land in Athens, from where passengers will continue on to Israel.
Meanwhile, Israir said it operated another rescue flight Sunday to return its passengers from Dubai. The plane departed the Dubai area and landed at Aqaba Airport in Jordan, where passengers crossed into Israel via the Arava border crossing.
On Friday evening, the Israeli airline unexpectedly announced that it had successfully evacuated 310 passengers from Dubai on two special flights.
Upon landing in Aqaba, the company provided passengers with food and drinks, full assistance and organized transportation to the border crossing, including help with issuing the required visa and coordinating a late opening of the crossing.
After entering Israel, the passengers were transported by bus to central locations across the country.
Thousands still stranded
Operation “Gulf Lionesses” aims to return thousands of Israelis who have remained stranded in the United Arab Emirates since the start of the war.
According to the Transportation Ministry, thousands are still in the country after regular flights to Israel were suspended.
Under the plan, special rescue flights are being operated in cooperation with Emirati airlines. In the first phase, priority is given to families with children, women, people aged 65 and older, and humanitarian cases, who are flown directly to Israel.
Other passengers are expected to be flown to intermediate destinations, including Athens, before continuing their journey home to Israel.
First published: 08:35, 03.09.26