By Tobias Siegal - August 23, 2022
The first-ever Israeli commercial flight over Saudi airspace to a non-Gulf destination departed after midnight on Tuesday, with the new route shortening the duration of the flight by 20 minutes.
Arkia Airlines flight IZ611 departed Ben Gurion Airport after 1:15 a.m. and was scheduled to land in the Republic of Seychelles off the coast of East Africa six hours later.
In a statement ahead of the flight, Arkia’s chief pilot Din Gal said, “Tonight, an Arkia plane will become the first Israeli licensed plane to fly over Saudi Arabia — not to Dubai, but to the Seychelles. The route will go through Jordan in the area of the Dead Sea and turn left to Petra, continuing along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea shores. From there, it will continue on its regular route through Eritrea…We soon hope to see shorter flights to India and Sri Lanka.”
Read More: Times of Israel