Air India can launch direct flight service to Tel Aviv, as Saudi Arabia has agreed to open its airspace to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the revelation during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday.
Experts are of the opinion that the Saudi decision could change the diplomatic balance in West Asia. However, it’s still difficult to predict whether the hostility between the two countries will end soon.

Although both Saudi Arabia and Israel maintain friendly relations with the US, the ties between Riyadh and Jerusalem have always been antagonistic. In the last 70 years, Saudi Arabia has not allowed Israel to use the former’s airspace. That’s why the Saudi move has surprised the global community. Experts are trying hard to find out the reason that suddenly prompts Riyadh to forget the bitterness.
Meanwhile, the Saudi authorities have not yet confirmed their decision to open airspace to Israel. Also, they didn’t deny the claim made by the Israeli premier. Currently, Air India operates Mumbai-Tel Aviv flights four days a week via Ethiopia because of Saudi sanction, while El Al – the Israeli national carrier – operates an India service that takes a detour over the Red Sea in order to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia and Iran. It takes seven hours, instead of five, to reach Tel Aviv from Mumbai. The Indian national carrier recently decided to operate flights to Israel three days a week. It seems that Air India will reconsider its decision after the Israeli PM’s announcement.

Speaking at a media conference in New Delhi, a senior Air India official said: “We have applied for the route with (India’s) Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It is for them to decide on our request. But, we haven’t yet received any communication about it from the regulator.”
Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic ties. Riyadh has made no comments on Israeli hints of covert ties with the kingdom. Some diplomats believe that the Saudi authorities have sent a ‘positive’ message to India by opening its airspace to Israel. Riyadh’s decision may change the equation between Saudi Arabia and Israel in the coming days. But, it’s only a speculation. Only time can provide the answer and we know that for sure.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das