After three days of closed airspace left tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad, Israel’s Transportation Ministry has announced a temporary solution: two emergency rescue cruises will depart from Cyprus to bring citizens back home.
As part of the emergency plan, Transportation Minister and cabinet member Miri Regev reached an agreement Sunday evening with businessman Moshe Mano, head of Mano Maritime, to launch two rescue sailings from Cyprus. According to a Channel 12 News report, the agreement was reached following discussions about utilizing maritime routes to repatriate Israelis amid the ongoing airspace closure prompted by attacks on Iran. So far, only the two initial voyages have been confirmed, and no registration details or official forms have been released yet.
Earlier in the day, Arkia CEO Oz Berlovitz issued a direct plea to the prime minister, security officials, and the transportation minister, urging immediate government intervention. He warned of a rapidly escalating aviation crisis caused by the closure of Israeli airspace.
“There are about 200,000 Israelis stuck abroad — including hundreds of doctors, medical personnel, soldiers on emergency reserve call-up orders, patients, and small children without their parents — with no way to return home,” Berlovitz said.
Despite the situation, Berlovitz emphasized that Israeli airlines, including Arkia, are fully prepared, with aircraft and crews waiting in nearby countries, ready to take off as soon as clearance is granted.
“Since the airspace was closed due to the security escalation, tens of thousands of Israelis remain stranded without a practical solution or a clear path home,” Berlovitz stated. “The current framework, which permits only two landings per hour during daylight hours, is far from a real solution. At that pace, bringing everyone home could take weeks — or even longer.”
He concluded by calling on decision-makers to treat the situation as a national emergency. “The current outline doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground. I urge leaders to revise it immediately and establish a wide-scale air bridge to bring Israeli citizens home without delay.”
{Matzav.com Israel}