Plane with 2 Israelis aboard makes emergency Pakistan landing, leaves without incident
Foreign Ministry says authorities worked to ensure citizens’ safety after their flight from Dubai to Sri Lanka was forced to stop for hours in Karachi to evacuate sick passenger
Two Israeli citizens spent a tense few hours on the tarmac on Thursday morning when their flight from Dubai to Sri Lanka made an emergency landing in Pakistan, a Muslim country that does not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
The National Security Council has advised citizens to avoid travel to the country “given the presence and intense activity of terrorist and radical Islamist groups throughout Pakistan, combined with the hostility of the Pakistani public towards Israel.”
Amid the ongoing war in Gaza and a subsequent spike in antisemitism worldwide, the NSC has noted increased attempts by global jihadist organizations, mainly backed by Iran, to inspire lone attackers to target Jews and Israelis abroad.
The Flydubai flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Karachi late Wednesday when one of its passengers fell ill and required a medical evacuation. The Israelis onboard contacted the Foreign Ministry during the stop, while all passengers were required to remain on the plane.
The plane took off a few hours later without incident, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday morning, noting that authorities had ensured the safety of the frightened Israeli passengers.
The incident came weeks after an El Al flight from Warsaw en route to Tel Aviv was not allowed to refuel after it made an emergency landing in Turkey to evacuate a passenger who required medical attention. Turkey cut off all trade with Israel following the outbreak of the ongoing war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
