Dubai (UAE), June 24: The Dubai-based Emirates Airline on Thursday launched its maiden passenger flight to Israel's Tel Aviv, signalling the continued improvement of the ties between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.
The airline said in a press release that flight EK931 took off from Dubai at 12:20 pm local time (8:20 GMT) with 335 passengers onboard, including a VIP delegation and Israeli media personnel.
The new daily service will provide Israeli travellers convenient access to Dubai, with easy connections to popular holiday destinations like Australia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, said the press release.
Emirates Airline will also offer convenient access to Tel Aviv from diverse points across its network with multiple daily and weekly flights, many of which are home to thriving Jewish communities, it added.
The aircraft used for the inaugural flight was Emirates Airline's Boeing 777 Gamechanger. The airline will then operate its three-class Boeing 777-300ER on the route.
Israel signed an agreement with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco to normalize ties in 2020. The agreement came as part of the so-called Abraham Accords, in which Sudan also agreed to normalize ties with Israel.
Last month, the UAE and Israel signed a trade deal that is expected to increase their bilateral non-oil trade to over 10 billion U.S. dollars in the next five years.
Source: Xinhua
