First Flight to UAE with Israeli Passengers After Peace Deal

An airplane carrying Israeli passengers landed in the U.A.E for the first time ever, three months after U.S.-brokered peace deal was signed between the countries.

FlyDubai Flight No. FZ8194 entered Saudi Arabia’s airspace before landing at Dubai International Airport just after 5:40 pm on Sunday. The government-owned low-cost carrier had sent one of its Boeing 737s to Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport to pick up passengers for the three-hour flight.

The flight comes afterBahrain, U.A.E. and Israel agreed to establish full diplomatic, cultural, and commercial relations following the signing of controversial normalization agreements on September 15 at the White House.

FlyDubai plans to begin its flights to Tel Aviv later this month. The carrier described Sunday’s flight as a “commercial charter flight” for the incoming tourists, without elaborating.

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The first direct flight from Israel to the U.A.E. landed in Abu Dhabi on August 31, carrying U.S. and Israeli officials. On October 19, the first commercial flight from the U.A.E. to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport took place. The Etihad Airways aircraft carried 58 passengers including business people, tourism professionals and journalists.

The two countries are expected to launch a direct commercial aviation line at the beginning of 2021, according to Israeli media.

The first Emirati ship loaded with goods, including iron, firefighting, cleaning and electronic equipment, arrived at Israel’s Haifa Port on October 12.