Starting March 2021, Etihad will serve flights from Abu Dhabi to Israel

KOMPAS.com – Etihad Airways, airline of origin Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will serve daily flights to Tel Aviv, Israel.

This service exists after the United Arab Emirates and Israel officially established diplomatic relations. Reported Reuters, Monday (16/11/2020), direct flights will begin in March 2021.

In Etihad’s official statement, the flights were also connected with Etihad services to and from China, Thalinda, India and Australia.

The announcement comes as the world’s aviation industry is facing its worst crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic that has left air travel quiet.

Etihad has cut jobs and pushed through plans to become a medium-sized airline focused on transporting passengers to and from Abu Dhabi.

During the pandemic, Abu Dhabi has not allowed foreign nationals to enter the country at the airport due to ongoing restrictions.

Also read: First Israeli Tourist Carrier Aircraft Landing in the United Arab Emirates

Meanwhile, another UAE airline, FlyDubai, will also launch direct flights to Tel Aviv this month.

Meanwhile, the Dubai airport operator said El Al ELAL.TA, Israir, Arkia, will start Tel Aviv-Dubai services in December 2020.

Previously, FlyDubai had landed the first Israeli tourists at Dubai International Airport on Sunday, November 8, 2020.

The flight from Israel to the city where the world’s tallest building is located took nearly 3 hours.

The plane crossed Saudi Arabia, then the waters of the Persian Gulf, only to arrive at the UAE.

Launch Arab News, Monday (8/11/2020), there were Jews and Arabs who came from Israel in the first group of tourists.

Many Israeli Jews wore a head covering known as a kippah, a type of small skullcap that covers the top of the head.

Also read: Pompeo’s visit to Israel will set a dangerous precedent for Palestine

Although this flight was the first from Israel to the UAE, most of the passengers on board said this was not the first time they had visited the UAE.

“There is no doubt that normalization between Israel and the UAE will bring good and beneficial things to Arabs inside Israel. There is no doubt about that,” said the head of the delegation of Arab businessmen, Hussein Suleiman, who was also on the flight.

“We support this agreement and normalization, and we are here today to practice normalization in reality,” he continued.

For your information, the UAE officially opened diplomatic relations with Israel on August 13, 2020.

US President Donald Trump called this normalization effort “Abraham’s Accord.”

U.S. Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to the Middle East was part of efforts to reach that historic moment.

Also read: US diplomatic relations with Israel under Biden are not expected to be as smooth as the Trump era

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