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First direct flight from Israel lands in Saudi Arabia

October 27, 2021 at 10:33 am

Israeli El Al airline Boeing 737-958 aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv [JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images]

An Israeli flight landed in Saudi Arabia for the first time yesterday morning, Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan reported.

According to the Times of Israel, this came only one day after the first flight from Saudi Arabia landed in Israel.

Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have official relations, but they have been exchanging secret visits and holding talks.

While there are no commercial flights between the two countries, this, according to the Israeli media, is a reflection of the progress being made in the relationship between the two sides.

Last year, the UAEBahrainSudan, and Morocco agreed to normalise ties with Israel. This led to Saudi Arabia opening its airspace to Israeli carriers on route to the UAE and other destinations. This reduced flight times from Israel to India by some two hours.

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