Transport Minister Yisrael Katz today approved permission for Arkia Airlines Ltd. to operate scheduled direct flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Oslo and Helsinki.
Katz said that the direct flights were made possible by recent aviation agreements with Norway and Finland.
At present there are only charter flights between Israel and Norway and Finland. As part of the recently signed agreement cited by Katz, each country is allowed to name one carrier for scheduled flights. El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) had previously been chosen to fly these routes but has not been operating them for a sustained period.
The Israel Civil Aviation Authority recently examined the preparedness of Israeli carriers to operate scheduled flights on the two Scandinavian routes and only Arkia showed interest. Thus the authority recommended to Katz that Arkia be given the green light.
Katz said, "Operating scheduled flights between Israel and Finland and Norway is part of the implementation of the liberalization process in the aviation sector, which has led to a significant rise in the number of flights and passengers to and from Israel."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 4, 2013
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