Israel lists first commercial passenger flight to UAE
Israel has listed an El Al flight taking off Monday for Abu Dhabi, which would be Israel’s first commercial passenger flight to the United Arab Emirates after the two countries agreed to a US-brokered deal to normalize relations.
The confirmation of the flight comes as the latest concrete sign of a deal that saw Israel agree to halt plans to annex land sought by the Palestinians. It also brought into the open a long-standing relationship between Israel and the UAE that both countries hope now will benefit their economies and strengthen their ties to the US amid tensions with Iran.
The website of the Israel Airports Authority listed the flight on Friday. It said the flight would be numbered LY971, a nod to the UAE’s international calling code number. A return flight to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday will be numbered LY972, Israel’s international calling code.
