Jakarta –
For years, travel time from Israel to the Eastern country has taken longer due to policies banning Israeli airlines from flying over Oman and Saudi Arabia. Now, Israeli airlines are free to fly anywhere.
Reporting from CNN, Sunday (26/2/2023) if you take flights operated by Israeli airlines, including the national airline El Al, the flight will take about two hours longer than if you fly with other airlines.
The reason? Israeli airlines are prohibited from entering the airspace of Oman and Saudi Arabia. That means flights to India and Southeast Asia, which naturally head east from Israel, have to dive south, cross Jordan and follow the Red Sea to the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula, before heading northeast.
But now the detour route will not be bypassed by Israeli airlines. Due to the Saudi government’s announcement in July 2022 that the country’s airspace would be opened to all airlines and Oman followed suit.
On February 23, Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority announced it was opening up its airspace on Twitter. All airlines that meet the Authority’s requirements to fly, effectively ending the ban on El Al, Israir and Arkia, three Israeli airlines.
In a tweet, it said the move was “part of the Sultanate of Oman’s ongoing efforts to fulfill its obligations under the 1944 Chicago Convention, which establishes non-discrimination between civil aircraft used in international air navigation.”
“The move could cut Israeli airlines’ flight time to Asia by up to three hours,” said Jonathan Sivarajah, an El Al frequent flier and Israeli aviation commentator. He added that it opens up further opportunities (for airlines), not only to Asia but potentially to Australia as well.
The non-stop El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok currently takes 10 hours and 45 minutes. But the non-stop flight with Royal Jordanian from Amman (100 miles east of Tel Aviv) takes 8 hours and 10 minutes. In fact, flying Tel Aviv to Amman, and then to Bangkok can be even faster, even including the transfer time at the airport to the connecting flight it can take 9 hours 55 minutes with Royal Jordanian.
When airlines were barred from entering Saudi airspace, the El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Mumbai took 7 hours and 45 minutes. The flight time was then cut to five hours and 15 minutes before the route was suspended.
When the announcement was made, El Al was quick to post a map of their old and new routes to Southeast Asia on Instagram.
Sivarajah said that until now, international airlines were competing to “flood” Israel with flights that were faster than those provided by the country’s own airlines.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a big news day for Israeli aviation”.
“We have been working to open up the airspace, first over Saudi Arabia, and since 2018 when I visited Oman, adding Oman as well, so we can fly direct to India and on to Australia. This was achieved today, after many efforts, including in the last few months. Here is the good news, Israel is opening up to the east on an unprecedented scale,” he said.
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