El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) has asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to help it gain access to fly over Saudi Arabia airspace on its Tel Aviv - Mumbai route, "Reuters" reports.
El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin wrote to IATA head Alexandre de Juniac in a letter seen by "Reuters." “I am approaching you and kindly requesting IATA to intervene and to represent aviation industry’s interest by advocating equal overfly rights for all carriers over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and opposing any form of discrimination.”
Usishkin's letter follows the news last month that Air India has been given rights to overfly Saudi Arabia on its planned New Delhi - Tel Aviv flights, which are scheduled to begin this month. The Saudis deny that this is the case but many believe that Air India will be allowed to fly over Saudi airspace, cutting the flying time between Israel and India by two hours from seven hours to five hours.
A Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) spokesperson told "Globes" that it would consider such a request by El Al to fly over Saudi Arabia if it were made.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 1, 2018
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