In Historic Flight, Air India Flies Over Saudi Arabian Air Space To Israel
Air India's flight AI 139 made a historic flight as it flew from Mumbai to Tel Aviv while traversing Saudi Arabia airspace.
In a landmark event that marks shifts in diplomatic relation as well as aviation travel, Air India flew a flight from New Delhi-Mumbai to Tel Aviv, Israel while flying over Saudi Arabian air space.
The maiden flight, Air India 139, departed New Delhi at 6 P.M. Indian time on Thursday and arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport at 10 P.M. Israel time, according to the Air India website. The inaugural flight to Israel was made by a 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a flight time of five and half hours as it flew over Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states, countries with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.
The flight path for Air India to fly over Saudi Arabia is a major breakthrough, as it cuts hours off travel between India and Israel. For example, airlines that fly between Mumbai and Tel Aviv like Ethiopian Airlines take a circuitous route to Addis Ababa, Cairo and finally Tel Aviv with a travel time of 16 hours. Israel’s national carrier El Al flies four weekly flights to Mumbai. These take between seven-eight hours as they fly south toward Ethiopia and then east to India, avoiding Saudi airspace.
The Air India flight comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised the matter of the route with his counterpart, Narendra Modi, when the two met in July in Israel and the following January in India, according to the Jerusalem Post. Soon after, the Indian government applied for permission to fly over Riyadh’s air space.
Saudi Arabia gave Air India permission to fly between New Delhi and Tel Aviv over Saudi airspace on March 6, which ended a 70-year ban and marked a diplomatic shift in international politics. Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel like other Islamic-countries in the Middle East for example Pakistan and Iran. Interactions between Riyadh and Jerusalem have taken place only through back channels. But the historic animosity has in recent times given way to cautious, if often denied, cooperation based on a shared enmity towards Iran and mutual ally the U.S.
The news of Saudi Arabia’s permission to Air India was revealed by Netanyahu but has not been acknowledged in public by government officials in Riyadh. In fact, Saudi officials had denied okaying an agreement in February after Indian authorities said they had applied for permission to fly over the country on trips to and from Israel.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel considers the new route important, noting the connectivity would lower fares and boost investment and tourism from India to Israel. Israel’s government is also trying to get Riyadh to open its skies to El Al and is working with international lobby groups. Air India’s route obviously gives the Indian carrier a huge time advantage which will impact El Al’s operations. Earlier this month, Air India had announced that it planned to fly the Delhi-Tel Aviv route three times a week.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2018 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).