A FlyDubai flight carrying Israeli passengers touched down unexpectedly in Pakistan late Wednesday night, a country Israel designates as hostile where no Israeli national is allowed to legally stay or enter.
While the exact cause of the landing remains unclear, it is believed to have been a medical emergency for one of the passengers on board. The plane spent almost two hours on Pakistani soil before resuming its journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka. It then continued out of Pakistan, flying over Indian airspace on its way to its destination.
Israel categorizes Pakistan as a high-risk nation, strictly forbidding landings within its borders. This classification places Pakistan alongside countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and others where Israelis are prohibited from even making connecting flights without exiting the airport.
In an official statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry provided more details about the incident: "During the night, a FlyDubai flight en route to Sri Lanka made an emergency landing in Karachi, the capital of Pakistan. Israeli citizens were on board at the time. The Situation Center and the Department for Israelis Abroad at the Foreign Ministry were updated about the event and worked in collaboration with other agencies to ensure the well-being of the Israelis. After a short time, the plane continued on its way with the Israelis on board."
On Thursday morning, we spoke with Rotem Yehud and Itai Roshtein, two Israelis recently released from reserve duty who were flying to Sri Lanka for vacation. They recounted the experience:
"A passenger wasn't feeling well during the flight. Pakistan was the closest place to land. It took some time to get approval, so we circled above the Pakistani airport for an hour and a half. Then we spent another two hours on the ground in Pakistan while they refueled our plane before we continued to Sri Lanka."
They added, "As long as we were on the plane, there was no reason to be afraid. They weren't hostile towards us. The medical teams were the first to board the plane. We don't know if the Pakistanis knew we were Israelis. We sat quietly and didn't feel anything different.
"We talked among ourselves and immediately stood up to speak with other Israelis. The families with young children were very scared; they didn't understand what was happening. There were about six young people like us and around 15 others in family groups. There was a large family of six, another family of five, and a few more in similar arrangements."
"They kept asking what was happening. No one knew for sure what was going on or when we'd leave. The pilot kept talking, saying he didn't know if or when we'd be leaving Pakistan, but eventually we took off after about two hours."
