Israeli airline permit triggers political uproar in Slovenia

The Infrastructure Ministry has come under pressure to explain its decision to issue Israeli airline Israir a permit to operate flights between Ljubljana and Tel Aviv. PM Robert Golob has asked Minister Alenka Bratušek for explanation, while the Left, a government coalition party, and several NGOs have urged her to revoke the permit.

Israir received the permit in February and started flying between Slovenia and Israel on 20 May, after having regularly operated the route in summer for several years, CE Report quotes STA.

Golob had not been informed of the ministry's decision and thus asked Bratušek for explanation last week.

Also last week, the Movement for the Rights of Palestinians, together with more than 20 NGO and civil initiatives, urged Bratušek to revoke the permit.

They said "the permit was issued despite Israel being accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice in The Hague and despite the International Criminal Court having issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli political leadership over war crimes and crimes against humanity".

The Left, the smallest party in the government, made a similar appeal today, stressing that "as long as the Israeli state is committing genocide, we cannot allow bilateral relations to continue as if nothing has happened".

It also wrote that Israir "is deeply involved in business activities within the areas of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and is listed by the UN for violations of international law".

The permit has led to public criticism in Slovenia as it was issued when multiple countries are limiting business relations with Israel while Slovenian government officials, including Golob and FM Tanja Fajon, have also urged sanctions against the country.

The Infrastructure Ministry replied to Golob and the Movement for the Rights of Palestinians today, saying that in issuing the permit the ministry had taken into account all existing legislation, which would not allow any other decision.

The minister is not involved in permit issuing nor is it informed of the permit issuing proceedings because it does not have the power to prevent it.

The legislation also does not set down any coordination with other ministries, which is a reason why the Foreign Ministry had not been involved.

Nevertheless, the directorate for aviation and maritime transport addressed today a question to the Foreign Ministry regarding the legal basis for revoking Israir's permit or refraining from issuing new permits, even if the company meets the requirements in terms of aviation safety and security, the press release said.

"Should any new facts emerge that would enable the ministry to act in a different manner, the ministry will act accordingly," the ministry wrote.

It added that according to available data Israir also flies to another 13 EU countries, including Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain and Greece.

"To our knowledge, no EU country has yet refused to grant approval for Israeli airlines to operate regular international air transport services," the ministry said.

Its data shows that Israir received the permit to operate schedule international flights to Slovenia for the first time in 2003, and then in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The newspaper Dnevnik has meanwhile reported that Israir had introduced some safety protocols to its flights, including armed security guards being present on board and at Ljubljana airport.

The presence of security guards has been confirmed by the Slovenian police, which has however said they cannot carry weapons on airport premises.

The police also said that Israeli government officials have no police or other official powers on Slovenian territory.