Slovenia refuses landing to an Israir flight from Tel Aviv due to 'gov't policies'

An Israir flight traveling from Tel Aviv to Ljubljana was denied permission to land in Slovenia following a last-minute decision by Slovenian authorities, forcing the aircraft to divert to Zagreb, Croatia, the airline said.

Israir CEO Uri Sirkis claimed the move reflected Slovenia's political opposition to the policies of the Israeli government, alleging that Israeli carriers are now being denied access to Slovenian territory. According to Sirkis, the decision prevented the flight from completing its scheduled route despite efforts to maintain service between the two countries.

The airline chief described the incident as a "blatant violation" of aviation agreements within the European Union framework. He said both the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority were engaged in attempts to resolve the matter, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

According to Israir, this marks the first time one of its aircraft has been refused landing authorization in Slovenia.