First Israeli flight flies over Saudi-Omani airspace

Jerusalem: Israel’s national air carrier El Al began operating a new time-saving route via the airspace of Oman and Saudi Arabia, the company has said.

El Al Flight 083 departed from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday evening bound for Bangkok, marking the first Israeli commercial flight using the new corridor, Xinhua news agency reported.

The flight is expected to take around eight hours to reach Thailand’s capital. The new route would shorten flights to some Asian destinations by about two hours, according to a statement released by the company.

The new route comes after Oman announced last week opening its airspace to Israel, following a similar move announced by Saudi Arabia in July 2022.

Israel does not have official ties with either Oman or Saudi Arabia.