About 165 Israelis were denied entry into the United Arab Emirates after landing in Dubai on Monday morning, with the tourists held in the Dubai airport for hours before the issue was resolved.

The Israeli tourists had flown on an overnight flydubai flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai but were denied entry into the country due to last-minute changes in visa regulations.

Israel and the UAE signed a mutual visa waiver agreement in September, enabling Israelis to enter the UAE with an entry permit through the airlines. The agreement, which has not yet been formalized, was slated to go into effect sometime in December. Meanwhile Israelis were able to obtain tourist visas from airlines, travel agents and tourism offices.

The agreement was apparently suspended on Sunday evening, leading the Israelis stranded at the airport for about four hours. (Israelis with dual citizenship who had non-Israeli passports were allowed into the country.) Eventually, following the intervention of senior officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry and National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat, the Israelis were allowed in the country after filling out electronic visa forms, which will now be required for all Israeli tourists.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said the incident occurred due to confusion over who was required to obtain the visas – the passengers themselves or the airlines, tourist agents, or travel companies.

“The situation [at the airport] was a total disgrace,” an Israeli passenger told Israeli media outlets. “There are familes here with children and babies, people were up all night. We  spent hundreds of dollars and flydubai reassured us that everything would go smoothly.”

The incident is not expected to occur again as Israelis traveling to Dubai are now being instructed to fill out E-visa forms. Two flights that were scheduled to fly from Tel Aviv to Dubai on Monday morning on Israir and Arkia were initially delayed but took off after the issue was resolved.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)