Following Thursday announcement by Israel and the United Arab Emirates on the signed agreement to establish full diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added today (Monday) “We are currently working on direct flights over Saudi Arabia between Tel Aviv, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, it would be a short flight of three hours.”
Netanyahu made the remark during a tour with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, at Ben Gurion Airport, ahead of the partial reopening of air traffic.
Although Saudi Arabia does not officially recognize Israel and its air space is closed to Israeli airliners, in 2018 Riyadh allowed Air India to fly over Saudi territory on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv route.
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Netanyahu estimates that Israel will reach an agreement that will allow direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai. This will open the entire Israeli tourism and opens up the east and all of the connecting routes for Israeli air travel.
According to PM, the open sky will lead to also investments, “on a magnitude the likes of which we have not seen”, he said. “The Emiratis are very interested in massive investments in Israel in technology, in importing inexpensive products. There is a free trade zone there, one of the largest and most efficient in the world. This will be very beneficial to the Israeli consumer.
Israeli carrier Israir has already submitted an official request to fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital.
The flight route that will pass over Saudi Arabia and Jordan on its way to Tel Aviv will take about 3.5-4 hours. A flight from Abu Dhabi to Amman takes 3 hours and is priced at $ 500-600 with the Legacy companies and presumably flights to Tel Aviv will be at least such a price.
Two particularly interesting airlines operate in the UAE: Etihad Airways is the national airline of Abu Dhabi and is one of the most decorated companies when it comes to its first and foremost business classes.
The company has a fleet of about 100 aircraft with an average age of less than 6 years (which gives it awards and high ratings among passengers). In 2019 it flew 17.5 million passengers and its average occupancy was 79%. It has flown to 84 destinations in 55 countries and now we hope that another country from the Middle East will join this list.
The larger airline coming from the Emirates Princesses is Emirates whose parent base is located in Dubai. The company consistently wins titles as the best company in the world and is considered one that provides the best service. In 2019 the company flew 56 million passengers and its fleet numbered 270 aircraft. It flies to 157 destinations and employs close to 60,000 workers.
