Saudi Arabia allows Israeli airline to use its airspace

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given permission for Israeli commercial flights to use its airspace en route to the UAE, Ynet News reported on Monday.

“Israel’s first commercial flight to the UAE will go ahead as planned on Tuesday morning, taking off from Ben-Gurion Airport to Dubai International Airport, after Saudi Arabia granted permission for the flight to use its airspace with less than a day to spare,” the Israeli news website explained.

The planned flight would have been cancelled if Israir was not given permission for its aircraft to use Saudi airspace.

According to Ynet News, Israir, Arkia and El Al are the Israeli airlines scheduled to operate flights to the UAE within the next month. The UAE’s flydubai began operating flights between Dubai and Israel on 26 November.

“We are already flying over Saudi Arabia as you know,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a ceremony last week to mark the launch of the flydubai Israel-UAE route. “All those flights go over Saudi Arabia, including flights by Israeli companies.”