Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the announcement by Saudi Arabia earlier today allowing flights “from all countries” to cross over its airspace while traveling to or from the United Arab Emirates.
The Saudi announcement did not mention Israel, but clearly means that flights from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi and back can take the shortest route. Instead of seven and a half hours, a Tel Aviv-Abu Dhabi flight will now take only three. The first commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi on Aug. 31, operated by the Israeli national carrier El Al, received an exceptional authorization from Riyadh to take that route.