Israeli flight to Dubai fails to get Saudi airspace permit

A flight by an Israeli airline has failed to get a permit to travel through Saudi Arabia’s airspace and has been waiting in Tel Aviv for nearly five hours, the carrier said.

Israir Airlines & Tourism Ltd.’s flight 661 was to depart at 9 a.m. local time, and it isn’t known why the permits haven’t been given, a spokeswoman for the airline said in a text message. The Foreign Ministry is dealing with the issue, she said.

Israel’s Channel 13 reported earlier that Saudi Arabia had closed its airspace to Israeli flights. The kingdom allowed flights from Israel to go through its airspace after the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed last year to establish ties.