Israeli tourists leave a flydubai plane in Dubai on Sunday, November 8, 2020. Malak Harb / AFP
Israeli tourists leave a flydubai plane in Dubai on Sunday, November 8, 2020. Malak Harb / AFP
Israeli tourists leave a flydubai plane in Dubai on Sunday, November 8, 2020. Malak Harb / AFP
Israeli tourists leave a flydubai plane in Dubai on Sunday, November 8, 2020. Malak Harb / AFP

Flydubai apologises after Israeli passengers held up at Dubai International Airport


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Flydubai apologised after passengers on a flight from Israel experienced delays on arrival in Dubai.

The airline said it would review "the processes and procedures to prevent any delays to subsequent flights".

Israeli news reports and social media images showed what was later confirmed to be 155 people queueing in an arrival hall on Monday morning.

Reports said there had been an issue with entry visas since Sunday night.

Passengers were later allowed to pass through the airport and continue on their way.

State news agency Wam, which carried flydubai's statement, said "the policy permitting the entry of Israeli citizens remains unchanged, and Israeli citizens continue to be welcomed to the UAE".

Israel's foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told Israeli media the issue apparently stemmed from confusion over whether the passenger or the travel company needed to secure the visa.

Israeli tourists began arriving in the Emirates last month, just weeks after the landmark Abraham Accord normalised relations between the two countries.

Flydubai and Israir are among the airlines to operate daily services between Tel Aviv and Dubai, allowing hundreds of UAE residents and Israelis to travel for holiday and business.

At Dubai's Gitex technology exhibition this week, there is a large contingent of Israeli business people and a number of top cybersecurity consultants among the main speakers.

Flydubai's first flight to Israel - in pictures

  • A member of the media interviews a businessman after he landed in Israel on a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    A member of the media interviews a businessman after he landed in Israel on a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
  • A section of a flydubai plane is seen through a glass panel during a welcoming ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool
    A section of a flydubai plane is seen through a glass panel during a welcoming ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool
  • The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
    The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
  • The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
    The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
  • The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
    The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
  • The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
    The first flydubai service lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020. AFP
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a welcoming ceremony upon the landing of a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a welcoming ceremony upon the landing of a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool
  • Businessmen carry their luggage after arriving on a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    Businessmen carry their luggage after arriving on a flydubai flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel on November 26, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

UAE squad

Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Third Test

Result: India won by 203 runs

Series: England lead five-match series 2-1

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

INVESTMENT PLEDGES

Cartlow: $13.4m

Rabbitmart: $14m

Smileneo: $5.8m

Soum: $4m

imVentures: $100m

Plug and Play: $25m

The specs

Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Power: 160hp

Torque: 385Nm

Price: Dh116,900

On sale: now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”