First Israel-UAE commercial flight may cross Saudi airspace today
- Flight carries US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner and US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.
The first commercial flight carrying an Israeli-American delegation from Israel to the United Arab Emirates is slated to cross through Saudi airspace today.
El Al Flight 971 will have American officials led by President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. An Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will also be on the flight.
On Sunday, the Israeli Airline Pilots Association released a tentative map of 971’s route, showing the plane slated to cross through Saudi airspace. According to the Times of Israel, El Al has asked permission from the Kingdom to use its airspace.
Israel, UAE reach 'historic' deal to normalize relations
But according to Channel 12, Saudi Arabia has authorized the use of its airspace after receiving a request from Washington and only agreed to do so 'because a high-level American delegation will be aboard the plane'.
If the Kingdom has in fact allowed El Al to use its airspace, it will cut the flight time by roughly five hours, to just over three hours. The Israel-UAE deal awaits negotiations on details such as opening embassies, trade and travel links before it is officially signed.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.