10,000 Israelis Stuck in Dubai and en route

El Al’s evacuation flights from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport were canceled on Friday after Israeli carriers failed to receive permission to land in the United Arab Emirates. The cancellation came only hours after the Transportation Ministry announced that repatriation flights would begin departing during the day, though with expected delays.

“Following coordination with all relevant parties, it was agreed that flights operated by Israeli airlines from Dubai to Israel will begin on Friday, October 2,” the Ministry stated. “However, due to necessary preparations and required security coordination, delays are expected in the departure of repatriation flights from Dubai.”

The Ministry added that it is “continuing to work with all relevant parties, both in Israel and abroad, to enable the flights to operate as soon as possible,” and urged Israeli citizens in Dubai to remain in contact with their airlines and follow their instructions.

Then the UAE revoked the landing permits at the last minute. No public explanation for the reversal had been given at the time of this writing.

How It Started

The crisis began on Wednesday, when flydubai suspended its flights to Israel following an attempted hijacking of one of its aircraft. Flydubai had become one of the most heavily used links between Israel and the East, and its sudden withdrawal left travelers with few options.

According to the Finance Ministry, approximately 10,000 Israeli citizens are now trying to return home. That figure includes not only those in Dubai, but also passengers stranded across Asia, in Thailand, India and elsewhere, who had planned to connect through Dubai.

On Thursday evening, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructed senior ministry officials to immediately allocate the full budget the Transportation Ministry needs to finance the rescue operation. The Finance Ministry is working to finalize the transfer of funds so that, once landing permission is secured, money will not be an obstacle.

The Calendar Problem

The timing could hardly be worse. Friday was Hoshana Rabbah. In Eretz Yisrael, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah fall on Shabbos itself. Boruch Hashem, El Al does not fly on Shabbos or Yom Tov, and the flight from Dubai to Ben Gurion takes roughly three and a half hours. That meant any flight had to depart early enough on Friday to land well before candle lighting. Once that window closes, the earliest realistic departures are pushed to Motzei Shabbos at best.

For many stranded families, especially those with small children, elderly parents, or limited funds for extra hotel nights, that means spending Yom Tov in a hotel room far from home, without their own shul or Simchas Torah hakafos.

The Halachic Dimension: An Israeli on Yom Tov Sheni

The situation also raises a classic halachic question: how does a resident of Eretz Yisrael observe Yom Tov while stuck in chutz la’aretz?

Outside Israel, Shemini Atzeres falls on Shabbos and Simchas Torah on Sunday. For a ben Eretz Yisrael, Sunday is an ordinary weekday. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 496:3) rules that an Israeli visiting chutz la’aretz may not perform melacha publicly on the second day of Yom Tov, out of respect for local practice and to avoid controversy. Privately, he follows his Israeli status.

The Mishnah Berurah (496:13) explains that this applies to someone who intends to return to Eretz Yisrael. An Israeli stuck in Dubai, desperately trying to get home, plainly falls into that category – unless it is not a Yidisheh shtot. His Sunday is a weekday, but he should be discreet about it, particularly in the presence of local Jews or other travelers keeping Simchas Torah.

There are practical questions too. An Israeli in chutz la’aretz who wants to daven with a local minyan on Sunday may join, but he davens a weekday Shemoneh Esrei and puts on tefillin privately. Poskim discuss these details at length, and stranded travelers with specific questions should consult their own rav, ideally before Yom Tov begins.

The Mitzvah of Bringing Them Home

Smotrich’s directive to fully fund the operation reflects a principle deeply rooted in Jewish law and Jewish history. The Gemara and Rambam treat the rescue of a Jew in distress as among the highest obligations, and Israel as a state has consistently understood its mission to include bringing its citizens home when they are stranded abroad.

There is recent precedent. During the June 2025 war with Iran, when Israeli airspace closed, tens of thousands of Israelis were stranded around the world, and the government organized an extensive repatriation effort. After October 7, 2023, when foreign carriers suspended service to Israel, El Al and other Israeli airlines carried much of the load on their own. Each time, the lesson was the same: when foreign airlines pull out, Israel must rely on itself.

The Diplomatic Question

The episode also tests the relationship built under the Abraham Accords. Since 2020, Dubai has become one of the most popular destinations and transit hubs for Israelis, and direct flights became routine. A last-minute revocation of landing permits, on a rescue mission, is the kind of setback that both governments will want resolved quickly and quietly. Officials have not said whether the issue is security coordination, logistics, or something more political.

Waiting for Motzei Shabbos

For now, roughly 10,000 Israelis will spend Shemini Atzeres away from home, waiting for a phone call, a text message, or an airline update that their flight has finally been cleared. The Finance Ministry has the money ready, the airlines have the planes, and the government has the will. What is still missing is a single permission to land.