Thursday, October 15, 2020
Israel and the United Arab Emirates will ink a commercial aviation contract, as said by an Israeli official, as the countries cemented newly normalized relations before reciprocal delegation visits scheduled next week.
Direct air traffic between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi or Dubai would be tourism and business advantage for Israel and the Gulf power, while also making Israelis’ travel to Asia easier.
Saudi Arabia has decided speeding up such flights by letting them pass over its territory. However, Riyadh has indicated that it is not ready to establish formal ties with Israel, as the UAE and Bahrain did at a Sept. 15 ceremony in Washington.
Ofer Malka, the director-general of Israel’s Transportation Ministry, said that the UAE aviation agreement is “more or less ready, and we will sign it in the coming days”.
Israel has also agreed to UAE regarding commercial flights over its soil to westward destinations and back, as said by Malka.
An Israeli delegation accompanied by senior U.S. officials would fly out to Manama and Abu Dhabi on Oct. 18-19, returning to Tel Aviv on Oct. 20 with UAE delegates aboard embarking on their first official visit to Israel.
In general, Israel requires its carriers to be provided with extra security abroad. In some instances, provisions have been made regarding separate terminals and Israeli guards at foreign airports.
