The Israel Civil Aviation Authority will allow Israeli and Polish airlines to make unrestricted charter flights between the two countries, at the request of Poland’s Civil Aviation Office, in view of the increase of passenger traffic on the route.
Under the current agreement, there are two scheduled weekly flights between Poland and Israel, and a limited number of charter flights. El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) and Lot Polish Airlines fly between Tel Aviv and Warsaw and Krakow. Arkia Airlines Ltd. makes charter flights, mostly to Katowice. The new agreement will expand the number of flights and destinations.
125,000 passengers flew between Israel and Poland in 2005. Lot carried 43% of these passengers, El Al 26%, and Israeli charter airlines carried 31%. There will be eight weekly scheduled flights between Tel Aviv and Warsaw this summer, two more than in the winter of 2006.
Minister of Transport Meir Sheetrit said the Civil Aviation Authority was also seeking an agreement for unrestricted charter flights between Israel and Cyprus. An agreement for scheduled flights by German travel agency TUI AG was approved two weeks ago.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 14, 2006
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