Manama: Saudi Arabia will allow any flights going to and from the United Arab Emirates to pass through its air space, official news agency SPA said on Wednesday.
The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said the decision came in response to a request by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, which had recently begun normalizing relations with Israel.
The latest move would give the UAE and Israelis flights to fly over Saudi’s territory. The announcement came two days after an Israeli flight carrying an official delegation to the UAE flew over the kingdom.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has confirmed this and said that it had obtained approval from its counterpart in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described this as a tremendous breakthrough and the fruits of peace. The new decision would make flights cheaper and shorter and augment tourism between the countries, he added.
Saudi’s decision to allow flights to and from Israel from the UAE will reduce a nearly seven-hour journey in half.
Meanwhile, in a tweet Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan said the agreement would not change the Kingdom’s stance towards the Palestinian cause.
The Kingdom’s firm position towards the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people will not change by allowing flights to and from the UAE to pass over Saudi airspace, the Kingdom appreciates all efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative,” he wrote on twitter.
On Monday, Israeli flag carrier El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi had passed through Saudi airspace. That was the first time the Saudi had overtly permitted an Israeli commercial jet to fly over its territory. India’s flag carrier Air India had earlier been allowed to fly directly to Israel, and in 2018 established a direct route from New Delhi to Tel Aviv that passed over the kingdom.
