- A maiden commercial flight between New Delhi and Tel Aviv flew over Saudi airspace on Thursday evening, marking a historic shift in diplomacy between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
- AirIndia flight 139 flew over Saudi Arabia for approximately three hours, coming within 37 miles (60 kilometers) of the capital city Riyadh.
- Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, although there have been major signs of warming ties.
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An Israel-bound flight flew over Saudi Arabian airspace, making history between two countries that still don't have diplomatic relations
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, although there have been major signs of warming ties.
A maiden commercial flight between New Delhi and Tel Aviv flew over Saudi airspace on Thursday evening, marking a historic shift in diplomacy between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Currently, Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, although signs of warming ties between the Middle East powers have become frequent. This most recent move has ended a 70-year ban on planes marked for Israel flying over Saudi Arabian airspace.
Officials from Oman have yet to comment on the news. Saudi Arabia has previously denied reports of the historic flight agreement.
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Yariv Levin, Israel's tourism minister, and his ministry's director general, Amir Halevy, were reportedly at Ben Gurion Airport to celebrate the inaugural flight.
But Riyadh has not granted any Israeli airlines the right to use its airspace, although Israel's flagship carrier, which has a direct route from Tel Aviv to Mumbai, has requested access.
Reports indicate that Saudi Arabia and Israel have recently bonded over interest in the creeping regional influence of their mutual enemy Iran.
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