El Al has confirmed it will operate a special rescue flight schedule to retrieve Israelis in Dubai following yesterday’s attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the airline stated on Thursday.

Tickets for the flights will be sold at $249 for a Lite fare, including a carry-on bag.

Israir also announced Thursday that it was preparing to resume operations on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route, with plans to operate eight to 10 flights per week, subject to receiving all necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

The airline is preparing to operate two rescue flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Friday, also subject to final approval.

Initially, tickets for the Israir rescue flights will be sold only from Dubai to Tel Aviv, at a price of $299 one way.

Israir said the resumption of service was intended to meet demand, assist Israelis seeking to return home and provide greater availability and flexibility for passengers traveling between Israel and Dubai.

Earlier on Thursday, a source within the Transportation Ministry told The Jerusalem Post that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) had flown to Dubai to make the necessary security preparations for the resumption of Israeli airline service, with flights expected to restart on Friday.

At the same time, Emirates and Etihad Airways are examining the possibility of increasing the number of flights they offer between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the source said.

Etihad currently operates two flights a day between Abu Dhabi and Israel.

Following Wednesday’s attempted hijacking, all flydubai flights to and from Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport were temporarily suspended as authorities continue to investigate the facts surrounding the incident.

Transportation Ministry to share flight list following Defense Ministry approval

The Transportation Ministry said Thursday that Israeli airlines would begin operating repatriation flights from the UAE on Friday once they received final security approvals.

The ministry said the flights were intended to return Israelis from the UAE after flydubai suspended its service to and from Israel following Wednesday night’s incident.

Flydubai’s suspension came alongside an instruction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and recommendations from Transportation Minister Miri Regev and the head of the Shin Bet to suspend flights until an investigation into the hijacking was completed.

The ministry said an urgent request had also been made Wednesday night for Etihad Airways to increase the number of flights it operates from Abu Dhabi to Israel.

At Netanyahu’s instruction and following a request by Regev, the Transportation Ministry said an agreement had been reached with the Finance Ministry for the state to reimburse Israeli airlines participating in the rescue operation.

The reimbursement is intended to account for Israeli aircraft flying empty to the UAE before returning with passengers who had originally been scheduled to fly back to Israel with flydubai.

The ministry said that, as a result, Israeli airlines were expected to maintain fair pricing and not take advantage of the situation.

It called on passengers to monitor the rescue flight schedules published by El Al, Arkia and Israir, with the flights expected to begin Friday.

Passengers who had booked with flydubai were urged to contact the airline to exercise the rights available to them under law, including accommodation, reimbursement for their flights and additional assistance where necessary.

Regev has also called for the Shin Bet to look into the suspected Omani nationality of the pilot hijacker.

Flydubai’s agreement to operate in Israel explicitly states that all pilots must be from countries that have normalized relations with Israel, which does not include Oman.