JERUSALEM (JTA) — A declared no-fly zone over the wedding of supermodel Bar Refaeli didn’t fly with Israel’s transportation minister, who canceled the order.
“The skies belong to all Israeli citizens and we can’t offer special treatment for this event over other events,” Israel Katz said Sunday. “We must maintain a semblance of equality in approving flights.”
Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority on Friday had declared the 4-square-mile airspace over the site of the wedding on Thursday evening in the Carmel Forest in northern Israel a no-fly zone.
Five drones, two helicopters and an observation balloon are scheduled to circle the area as part of the wedding – including photographing the affair and bringing the couple to the wedding, according to Israeli reports. The reports suggested that the request to close the area to other aircraft was a safety issue.
Uri Peretz, owner of the helicopters hired by the couple, told the Hebrew-language news website Ynet on Monday that the company plans to file a petition in court in a bid to close the airspace.
Refaeli is scheduled to marry Israeli businessman Adi Ezra, whose family owns the Israeli food importing company Neto ME Holdings. The no-fly zone would have been in effect from 5 p.m. Thursday to 2 a.m. Friday.
Refaeli dated the American actor Leonardo DiCaprio from 2006 to 2011.
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