An Israeli commercial flight was denied permission to land on Wednesday at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport and was instead diverted to Zagreb, Croatia, the airline said.
According to Israir CEO Uri Sirkis, Flight 6H755, operating in European airspace, was redirected to Zagreb after Slovenian air traffic control denied it permission to land at its intended destination. Sirkis called the incident a “blatant violation” of international aviation agreements and said Israel’s Foreign Ministry had been informed.
A spokesperson for Slovenia’s Ministry of Infrastructure, which oversees civil aviation, disputed the account, telling JNS that “according to our data, no Israir aircraft was diverted.” The ministry suggested Slovenia Air Navigation Services, which operates air traffic control at Ljubljana’s main airport, may have additional information. The air navigation authority did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The incident comes amid continued political friction between Israel and Slovenia, one of the European Union’s most vocal critics of the Jewish state.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, a center-left leader in office since 2022, has taken a critical stance toward Israel’s war in Gaza. Slovenia has supported measures within the European Union calling for restrictions on goods from Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, and earlier this year joined South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice alleging genocide in Gaza. Slovenia also formally recognized a Palestinian state in 2024.
Opposition leader Janez Janša, head of the Slovenian Democratic Party, who won the general election in Slovenia in April and whose tenure was approved by parliament last month, has taken a more pro-Israel position.
An Israeli official monitoring Slovenia’s political developments told JNS the Israir Airlines incident could reflect “a last hoorah” by the outgoing administration before the tone on Israel is reversed or softened.
“It could also be the actions of a ministry official, an airport official or even just an individual control tower shift officer, and we have seen such cases in the past,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
