Israel: national airline gets Saudi approval to use airspace

Israel’s national airline, El Al, has been given official approval from the Saudi Arabian authorities to operate flights in the kingdom’s airspace, Israeli broadcaster Kan has confirmed.

“This approval will go into effect today, which is good news for Israeli tourists heading to Israel from countries in the Far East, as flying over Saudi reduces the length of flights,” explained Kan. “The trip to and from Thailand will take about eight and a half hours, with Bombay at about five and a quarter hours.”

Kan added that El Al is waiting for permission from the Sultanate of Oman to start operating its flights in Omani airspace as well.

Moreover, Air Seychelles announced earlier that it had official approval from the Saudi civil aviation authorities to fly over Saudi airspace while operating between Tel Aviv and Mahe in the Indian Ocean republic.

Saudi Arabia announced during the visit of US President Joe Biden last month that it will allow all airlines to use its airspace.

Report: Israel seeks to increase arms sales to Arab countries