Abu Dhabi’s first commercial flight lands in Tel Aviv

ABU DHABI: The first commercial passenger flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways launched its regular flight service between the UAE capital and Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport and was received with the traditional water cannon salute, followed by a welcome reception.

Abu Dhabi is set to operate two flights a week between the cities. The scheduled flight, EY598, took to the skies on Tuesday morning with a delegation on board, which included the UAE’s first Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al-Khaja, Israel’s Head of Mission to the UAE Eitan Nae’eh and Etihad’s Group CEO Tony Douglas.

The return flight, EY599 will connect passengers from Tel Aviv into Abu Dhabi, who will now not be required to quarantine on arrival. Additionally, on Monday, Israel was added to Abu Dhabi’s ‘green list’, giving quarantine-free travel for visitors arriving in Abu Dhabi.

There is significant travel demand anticipated between Israel and the UAE and beyond, for both business and leisure travel purposes. The launch of scheduled operations comes as the next historic step in developing diplomatic, trade and tourism ties between Israel and the UAE, which were inked as part of the Abraham Accords in September 2020.