TEL AVIV – Saudi Arabia has opened its airspace for the first time allowing commercial direct flights from India to Israel after lifting a 70-year old overfly ban, according to an Indian airline.
The Air India says its maiden flight 139 took off from New Delhi on Thursday and landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv after flying over the Islamic kingdom, heralding a new shift in diplomatic policy of Riyadh that does not recognise Israel as a state.
“This is really a historical moment…We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel…and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers,” Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told Press Trust of India.
Saudi Arabia — the birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines – has not formally confirmed whether the Air India has been given overflight rights. It is still unknown whether Israeli airliners can use the airspace of the Gulf state or not.
The decision will reduce flight duration by two and a half hours between the two cities – New Delhi and Tel Aviv – and it will also decrease fuel cost. With the permission, India is now able to adopt a shorter route by flying over Ahmedabad, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Tel Aviv.
Earlier, Israel’s El Al flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai have to fly for seven hours over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden to land in India by avoiding airspaces of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Times of India quoted Levin as saying: “We have to very cautious. This is really a first step — a very important one… I hope with times we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region….India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region.”
Both countries – Israel and India – have come closer in recent months as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Israel in July last year, becoming the first Indian premier to set foot in the Jewish state.
After his visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited India last month, the first such trip in 15 years, and signed various accords to boost bilateral ties.
