UAE to take part in Israel’s Independence Day flyover

Two UAE airlines have agreed to take part in a flyover organised annually by Israeli airlines to mark Israel’s Independence Day, which marks the 1948 Nakba.

Israel Hayom said that this would be the first time that airlines from an Arab country take part in the Israeli flyover which is organised by the Israel Air Line Pilots Association. All Israeli airlines take part in the flyover. This year, Etihad and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will take part alongside Israeli carriers El Al and Israir, travelling from Acre in the north to Ashdod in the south on 5 May. The flight is expected to  be conducted at a low altitude of just 1,000 feet.

“First and foremost, this is a pilots’ flyover, which proves that regional cooperation is achievable, and not only as announcements,” Israeli Captain Maydan Bar, chairman of the IFALPA, was reported saying by Israel Hayom.

“I welcome with all my heart the pilots from the Gulf states who are taking part in our peace flyover and hope for continued, even increased, cooperation,” Bar added.

The UAE signed a normalisation agreement with Israel in September 2020 and has since agreed numerous cooperation and security deals.

READ: UN’s Israel probe urged to investigate the Nakba and ‘apartheid practices’