Flight to Tel Aviv full of Israelis makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

In a written statement from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was indicated that an Air Seychelles plane carrying Israeli passengers made an emergency landing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last night.

The statement noted that Israeli passengers spent the night at a hotel located at Jeddah Airport.

According to the statement, a replacement plane from Air Seychelles, brought in from Dubai, took off from Jeddah to transfer the passengers. It was mentioned that the passengers are expected to land in Tel Aviv at 14:00 local time.

Israeli media reported that the plane, with 128 Israeli passengers, made an "unplanned" landing in Jeddah due to a "technical issue."

Details about the "technical issue" that caused the plane to land in Saudi Arabia were not provided by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the airline, Air Seychelles.

"SUUDIS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN KINDER"

Meanwhile, the Israeli press reported that Israeli passengers were treated "very politely" in Jeddah and were hosted with "luxury accommodation" while waiting for their return flights to continue.

An Israeli passenger on the plane, quoted by Yediot Ahronot newspaper, used the expression, "The Saudis couldn't have been kinder."

With the approval of the flight from Jeddah to Tel Aviv for Israeli passengers, Saudi Arabia and Israel had their first-ever direct flight.

The Riyadh administration announced last year that it allowed the use of its airspace for Israeli flights. This announcement was made before US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia.