Slovenian authorities refused an Israeli passenger plane from Israir Airlines permission to land in Ljubljana, forcing the aircraft to change its route and land in neighboring Croatia. This was reported by The Times of Israel, according to UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the decision is linked to a protest by the Slovenian side against the policies of the Israeli government. Israir stated that air traffic controllers did not grant landing permission even after the aircraft had already entered the country’s airspace. The airline’s CEO, Uri Sirkis, called the incident a “blatant violation of European Union aviation agreements.”
Israel called the decision unacceptable
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Slovenia’s actions and stated that it has already conveyed its position to the Slovenian authorities. The ministry emphasized that it expects bilateral relations to improve following the formation of a new government in Ljubljana.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev called the ban an “invalid political decision” that directly affected the country’s citizens. She warned that Israel might resort to retaliatory measures.
Currently, Israir operates three scheduled flights per week to Ljubljana, and it remains unclear exactly when the Slovenian authorities began refusing to accept flights from Israeli airlines.