Dubai-based mega airline Emirates could finally return to Tel Aviv, Israel, after suspending flights at the start of the conflict with Hamas in Gaza, more than two years ago.
While nothing has yet been confirmed, sources who are said to be familiar with internal discussions over the route resumption have told Bloomberg that preparations for the airline’s return to Tel Aviv are underway.
Just months before suspending flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv in October 2023, Emirates was experiencing such strong demand on the route that it added a third daily flight.
Commercial flights between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel seemed almost unthinkable until 2020, when the two countries unexpectedly normalised diplomatic relations with the signing of the Abraham Accords.
Within days of political leaders from the two countries signing diplomatic treaties at a White House ceremony in September 2020, Emirates announced that it was opening a dedicated Kosher food production facility at its catering factory on the edge of Dubai International Airport (DXB).
Emirates originally wanted to launch flights to Tel Aviv in late 2021 but was scuppered by pandemic travel restrictions, which pushed the launch date back to June 2022.
The airline quickly discovered that demand was outstripping capacity, but when Hamas launched the October 7 attack on Israel, like many other airlines, Emirates quickly suspended flights to the country.
Unlike other airlines, however, Emirates has not even attempted to resume flights in the last couple of years. Instead, Israeli airlines have been filling the void left by Emirates, operating as many as eight daily round-trips between Dubai and Tel Aviv.
FlyDubai, which, like Emirates, is owned by the government of Dubai, currently operates two daily round-trips.
Emirates’ absence from Tel Aviv may be political as much as it has been commercial. The fact that the airline could now be considering returning to Israel is, perhaps, a sign that diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE are improving as the Gaza ceasefire holds.
There are, however, still some concerns that could delay Emirates’ return to Israel. Most notable is the geopolitical uncertainty in the region, and in particular, threats by the Trump administration to launch strikes on Iran.
Tehran has warned that a military assault would be treated as an act of war and that would likely result in a counter-strike on Israel.
Dutch flag carrier KLM was so spooked by the security situation that just over a week ago, it suspended all flights to the Middle East from its hub in Amsterdam.
KLM quickly reinstated flights to Saudi Arabia, but services to Dubai only resumed on Sunday, and flights to Tel Aviv were cleared on Monday, but with an adjusted schedule.
