moebod

Hi all

It might be the wrong forum, but I guess someone here should know


I have a friend, that has to go to Dubai/AbuDhabi next week. He has a set of meetings after that in Tel Aviv. He found a ticket with turkish airlines Business Class from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv via Istanbul. He thinks, that they will make him problems in Abu Dhabi, as he is traveling to Tel Aviv. Can he check in normally? Can he send luggage? He travels on a european passport

Please let me know what you think? He is all nervous and wants to buy two seperate tickets, that will cost him double

For a fast reply I would be grateful

Yahillwe

It is best to travel on 2 tickets.

NOIR

Its best for him to travel threw Jordan, this way he can do a land border crossing where the Isrealis won't stamp his passport. Instead they stamp some thing like a border crossing piece of paper. Its not that hard, and the Isreali border is not far from Amman. It's like he was never in Isreal.

The trick to it is to never have an Isreali entry/exit stamp in your passport. A lot of people do this just because the Isrealis know that middle eastern countries can give you problems when entering their country with Isreali stamps in your passport.

He can go to UAE first, then Isreal, but he will always have an Isreali stamp in his passport if he goes again. The only way back to the UAE is for him to get a new passport with no stamps.

UAE is very sensitive about this issue.

NOIR

When he finishes his business in the UAE, he can grab a flight from Dubai/Abu Dhabi - Amman return to UAE. Then grab a flight from UAE to Europe again. This is standard practise in Jordan.

This is one of the issues Dubai is having a hard time trying to figure out how to bid for the olympics. They want the olympics, but Abu Dhabi controls the laws. I doubt they will let Isrealis in the country. Its a catch 22.

moebod

I am sorry if I was misunderstood.

I found out and confirmed, that entering Dubai with a foreign passport having israeli stamps in it, is no problem at all. United Arab emirates let people with israeli stamps come in.

My friend is more worried about the airport on the departure, if they can check him in to Tel Aviv straight when traveling through Istanbul and if the authorities can make issues as he is going to Tel Aviv, they might not like it, when its so obivious. Thats why he was considering buying 2 seperate tickets, one DXB-IST and a new one IST-TLV, so that they cant be connected

Noir, I think you misunderstood me, he has to go from DXB straight to Tel Aviv, thats all

Thanks

Hyperacusis

Not true. As per the UAE Embassy in Washington DC, having Israeli entry/exit stamps in your passport will not cause any issues at immigration. It was problematic years ago, but is no longer the case. I know multiple folks who have travelled to DXB with Israeli stamps in their American passports, and never faced issues. Exit immigration won't say a word either - they very rarely ask questions.

As far as airline check-in at AUH and DXB, Etihad and Emirates will not carry pax with Israeli passports regardless of destination, and will also not issue tickets with Israeli destinations being served. However, I am assuming EY or EK are not the airlines of choice here. RJ or TK should not give you any trouble.

Things do get a bit trickier on the TLV side though. The questioning there can be quite intense. And that questioning will be the same whether you travel on a single ticket or two. (i.e. trying to cover up the fact that you were in DXB by purchasing two tickets, and then trying to explain your Turkish or Jordanian point of origin will probably result in them figuring out that something is fishy).

My advice: get a single ticket (whether it is on TK or RJ), be honest about your travel intentions, and besides some additional scruity in TLV, you (or your friend) should be fine.

GigoloArt

I'd still say, nothing wrong with trying to get the stamp on a piece of paper as opposed to the passport. What if the traveller is going to Saudi, .. or Kuwait or any other Arab country.

Will it be rather an advantage or disadvantage to then have a Israeli stamp in the passport?

LovetoTravel83

If it was to Saudi, clearly a disadvantage. I can't speak for the other countries.

GigoloArt

Ok, but at least what is the advantage of having an Israeli stamp in your passport?

bostonbali

I think I can speak with a bit of first-hand knowledge on this issue, since I live in Tel Aviv, and am currentl in Dubai on business.

I flew here with RJ (TLV-AMM-DXB on one ticket), and will be flying home on TK (DXB-IST-TLV on one ticket). Last month, I also flew the TK route, and nobody bat and eye.

I would certainly NOT purchase two tickets. Nobody in DXB gave me any issues about my destination. Furthermore, I have had no issues traveling into/out of DXB with my US passport that shows that I was born in Israel.

Hope your friends wants to earn *A miles though, as the TK flight takes about 8.5 hours, versus the 4.5 hours for the RJ flights (if he can get good connections with RJ - which is not a sure thing, as RJ's flights to TLV aren't the same every day).

LovetoTravel83

Good question. Got no answer to that.

TheBagman

Other than showing your friends you were there, there is no advantage to having any particular stamp in your passport.

I timed my leisure visit to Israel last November (also went to Dubai immediately after Israel) to be close to my passport expiration (<18months) and then promptly renewed it once I got home. Thus, I now have an Israeli stamp keepsake but also have the ability to travel to countries that don't allow entry by those with Israeli stamped passports.

At least in the USA:
Passport + renewal = Canceled old PP + Empty new PP

sadiqhassan

The fact that RJ,TK and QR (!) publish DXB-TLV fares leads me to believe that using one ticket will be fine. Two separate tickets might lead to you having to explain yourself unnecessarily.

george99

skywardhunter

You seem to be asking two separate questions, but as to the Iran issue I'd really not worry. Aside from the fact that you're more likely to be killed in a car accident going to the airport than the aircrthavibg to divert in Iran, what exactly do you fear will happen? At worst the issue will require you to deplane and Iran will refuse you entry and deport you. They aren't going to throw you into a dungeon and torture you, you're not worth the diplomatic fallout

As for checking in etc, reports are generally that the UAE looks the other way in regards to Israel. They aren't as strict as some of their neighbours but they're not fans of the country (whether or not one should refer to it as a country is a debate that doesn't belong in this forum)