Plane carrying two Israelis makes emergency stop in Pakistan

JNS contacted the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which responded with a statement saying the flight had taken off from Dubai en route to Sri Lanka but was later rescheduled to land in Karachi.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Situation Center and the Department of Israeli Overseas Affairs were notified of the incident and worked with other parties to ensure the safety of the Israelis. After a short while, the plane continued flying with the Israelis on board,” the ministry said in a statement.

The emergency landing was reportedly made after a passenger fell ill and required medical attention. The two Israelis contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the plane was on the runway. Passengers were asked to remain on board.

The Israeli government has advised its citizens to avoid travel to the Muslim-majority South Asian country and to leave immediately if they have been there, and its National Security Council has placed Pakistan in the Level 4 “high threat” category.

“Given the presence and active activity of terrorist and Islamic extremist groups throughout Pakistan, and the hostility of Pakistani citizens toward Israel, there are specific risks to the safety of Israelis visiting or residing in the country,” the National Security Council said in a travel warning.

An El Al plane that diverted to Turkey on June 30 was denied refueling at the airport, in apparent violation of international aviation law.

El Al Flight 5102, traveling from Warsaw to Tel Aviv, was rescheduled to Antalya at around 3:00 p.m. after a passenger fell ill and required urgent medical treatment.

Passengers were taken to a local hospital, and for the next three hours, Turkish airport authorities refused the airline’s request to refuel the plane so it could continue its flight to Tel Aviv.

In the evening, the plane flew to the Greek island of Rhodes to refuel before continuing on to Israel.

“If that doesn’t convince travelers not to take advantage of Turkish Airlines’ flights to Tel Aviv when they resume, I don’t know what else will,” Mark Feldman, Jerusalem director of Disenhouse Tours, told JNS. “We have no grudge against the Turkish people, but Turkish Airlines is owned by an anti-Semitic dictator who should be avoided at all costs.”

Air flights between Israel and Turkey have been suspended since the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again emerged as Israel’s most vocal critic in the world.