Emirates has denied reports of firm plans to restart flights to Tel Aviv. The airline remains cautious due to ongoing regional geopolitical tensions and security concerns.
Emirates on Monday denied reports that it was preparing to resume flights to Tel Aviv. The airline said there were no firm plans to restart operations.
The denial came after Bloomberg reported that Dubai’s flagship carrier was working towards resuming flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in the coming months, citing people familiar with the matter. The report said the plan could be delayed or shelved if geopolitical tensions worsened.
Bloomberg also reported that Israel had assured the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that Emirates’ landing and takeoff slots at Ben Gurion Airport had been preserved.
Emirates, however, denied the report. “Emirates can confirm that services to/from Tel Aviv remain suspended, and there are no firm plans to restart operations,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement to Khaleej Times.
The world’s largest international airline halted flights to Tel Aviv nearly two years ago due to military conflicts involving Israel and other countries in the Middle East. Emirates had launched Tel Aviv services in June 2022, two years after Israel and the UAE normalised ties under the Abraham Accords.
The renewed speculation around a possible restart comes amid rising tensions in the region. US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Iran, while Tehran has warned the US and Israel that its forces are on high alert following increased American military deployments.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported last November that Emirates was planning to resume flights to Israel in early 2026, following a visit by Israel’s Transportation Minister Miri Regev to Dubai. According to that report, Emirates officials expressed willingness to restart operations between the UAE and Israel in the first quarter of 2026.
However, Emirates said passengers can still travel between Dubai and Israel via its codeshare partner flydubai, which continues to operate direct flights to Tel Aviv.
