UAE First Commercial Flight Takes off in Israel

Tel Aviv, MINA – The first commercial passenger flight, Etihad Airways took off at Ben-Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv on Monday at 07.00 local time.

The Boeing 787 Etihad flight 9607 departed for Abu Dhabi hours later with the Israeli travel and tourism delegations, according to an Etihad statement.

Israeli tourism delegations will visit the UAE for two-day trip organized by Israeli company Maman Group, said an airline spokesman.

“Etihad has become the first Gulf airline to operate passenger flights to Israel. And this is just the beginning,” the airline said on Twitter, As reported by Al Jazeera.

Etihad said it plans to schedule regular passenger flights between countries in the future and launch a Hebrew website.

In May and June, Etihad planes landed at Ben-Gurion carrying medical supplies to help Palestinians cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Palestinians strongly object to the agreements Israel with the UAE and Bahrain, and reject such assistance.

The UAE and Israel signed an agreement on Tuesday to have 28 commercial flights between the two countries, a transport ministry official said. (T/R7/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)