Israeli airlines say it plans to boost its flights to Asian countries shortly after Saudi Arabia has finally announced that it is opening access to its airspace.
The expansion of its Asian flights could result in cutting the travel time to various destinations in Asia by significant amounts.
(Photo : by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
This photo taken on March 7, 2021 shows an Israeli airline El-Al Boeing 737 aircraft on the tarmac at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Israeli Airlines to Expand Asia Flights
A news story by Nikkei Asia reports that airlines based in Israel, including El Al Israel Airlines and its rival Arkia, have already applied for permission to fly over the airspace of Saudi Arabia.
The two Israeli airlines also touted that it would massively reduce the average travel time of Asia flights. Not to mention that it would also help them reduce their fuel consumption.
(Photo : by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
This photo taken on March 7, 2021 shows an Israeli airline El-Al Boeing 737 aircraft on the tarmac at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
This photo taken on March 7, 2021 shows an Israeli airline El-Al Boeing 737 aircraft on the tarmac at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
For instance, they estimated that the flight from the Southeast Asian country, India, to its neighboring nation, Thailand, would be cut by roughly two and a half hours.
So essentially, the move of Saudi Arabia to open access to its airspace would significantly shorten the travel time of folks traveling from India to Thailand. It, in turn, could also result in cheaper airfares moving forward.
In addition, Israeli airlines would no longer have to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia, wherein flights take a slower route, passing over the Red Sea near Yemen.
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Saudi Arabia Opens Airspace
According to the latest report by Simply Flying, airlines in Israel could only currently overfly the airspace of Saudi for its select flights. It includes those exclusively going to destinations like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
That said, flights to other Asian territories would have to avoid flying over the territory of Saudi.
On top of that, Simply Flying further notes that other airlines from other parts of the world headed to the Israeli nation were also prohibited from entering the Saudi airspace.
Well, except for a single airline, Air India.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to Air India in 2018. And as such, it became the first commercial flight to Israel that Saudi opened its doors. It was possible after the airline debuted its route between Tel Aviv and New Delhi.
But this time, Saudi has officially announced that it is formally opening its airspace to all airlines, including flights from Israel.
And now, the two Israeli airlines were swift to apply for permission to fly over the airspace of Saudi Arabia, wasting no time as they plan to boost their Asia flights.
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Written by Teejay Boris
