With a decision that Israeli authorities have called a blatant violation of the "Open Skies" agreements defined with the European Union, today Israir flight 6H755, headed to Ljubljana, was forced to change course and land in Zagreb after Slovenian authorities refused to authorize the Israeli airline's landing. The complaint came from CEO Uri Sirkis, who lamented a decision "dictated by strong political opposition to the operation of an Israeli airline" on the route to and from Slovenia.
Sirkis - quoted by the Israel Hayom portal - called the decision "very irregular," recalling that the Israel-EU agreements aim to ensure fair and equal access for airlines operating between member states. The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the incident "totally unacceptable." Tel Aviv's fear, as reported by The Times of Israel, is that Ljubljana's move could encourage other EU member states to make similar decisions.Passengers on board the flight were informed of the change of destination during the journey. At the moment - journalistic sources report - it is unclear when – or if – direct flights on the Ljubljana-Tel Aviv route will resume regularly. Currently - especially in light of security issues - several foreign airlines have limited or blocked flights to and from Israel. While Ita today restored two daily flights between Fiumicino and Ben Gurion Airport, Air Canada has confirmed the suspension of flights until at least September 7. Wizz Air resumed flights on May 28, Austrian Airlines reopened them on June 1, while Lufthansa and Swiss will return to flying to Tel Aviv from July 1. Eurowings, however, will resume operations in mid-July.
