Israel's Ministry of Transport will sign an aviation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday allowing 28 weekly flights in each direction between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The agreement is part of the "Abraham Agreement" signed at the White House last month between Israel and the UAE.
The agreement will officially allow the start of scheduled flights between Ben Gurion airport and Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The carriers who are expected to operate the flights include the two main UAE carriers - Emirates and Etihad Airways- as well as Israel carriers Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. and Arkia Airlines Ltd. who have declared their plans to launch the route. Several low-cost carriers are also likely to operate flights on the route - Wizz Air, which has a base in Dubai, and UAE carrier Fly Dubai.
Under the terms of the agreement, which will be signed on Tuesday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unlimited numbers of charter flights from Ramon Airport near Eilat will be allowed to operate on the route to the UAE in addition to the 28 weekly flights. There will also be 10 weekly cargo flights between Israel and the UAE.
The aviation agreement, one of the first fruits of the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, will facilitate tourism, commerce and trade between the two countries.
Minister of Transport Miri Regev said, "This is a historic and exciting day for the State of Israel and represents the beginning of an economic boom with new markets and the opening of the skies to new thrilling and exciting destinations. I want to thank all the professional organizations in the Ministry of Transport, Israel Airports Authority and Civil Aviation Authority that brought this agreement to completion in record time and wish success to all the Israeli airlines that will establish new routes to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and subsequently to other countries in the Gulf."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 18, 2020
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