JERUSALEM, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israel's flag carrier, El Al, announced Thursday that it will operate rescue flights for Israelis stranded in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The move came after Emirati airline Flydubai said Wednesday that it had suspended flights to and from Israel pending an investigation into an incident aboard flight FZ1073 earlier that day.
The Dubai-based airline said the decision was made in coordination with the relevant authorities to allow them to establish the facts surrounding the incident. Flydubai flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when it was diverted and landed safely in the Saudi city of Tabuk.
According to Flydubai, an altercation occurred in the cockpit during the flight, prompting crew members to intervene and secure the aircraft.
All 174 Israeli passengers were later flown to Tel Aviv on another Flydubai flight.
The United Arab Emirates' attorney general on Thursday ordered an investigation into the incident.
El Al said its special rescue operation would begin Friday, with aircraft flying to Dubai empty to bring stranded Israelis back home.
Following the incident on Wednesday, El Al said it was working to resume flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai in November, more than eight months after the route was suspended following the outbreak of the war with Iran. ■
