Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways announced direct flights to Israel starting next March. Following the half a year of chaos, the United Arab Emirates’s aviation industry tries to end the worst-ever crisis caused by pandemic, MiddleEastMonitor says.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit hard the business globally, and the air companies in the Middle East have suffered a lot from the pandemic, which has voided air travel demand.
On Monday, the state-owned carrier Etihad Airways said it would start daily flights to Tel Aviv in March after the two countries have established formal ties this year.
Flights will start March 28 and will be timed to connect with Etihad services to and from China, Thailand, India, and Australia, the UAE’s carrier said in a statement.
Over the months of lockdown, Etihad has forced to slash jobs and push forward with plans to shrink into a mid-sized carrier focused on carrying passengers to and from the UAE capital. Additionally, Abu Dhabi does not allow non-residents to enter the emirate at its airport and has not said when that coronavirus-related restriction would be lifted.
At the same time, neighbouring Dubai allows foreign visitors to enter. The UAE still loves tourists, in fact.
Another air company, State-owned flydubai, also has shared its plans. The carrier will launch direct flights to Tel Aviv this month, while Dubai’s airport operator has said El Al, Israir, Arkia will start Tel Aviv-Dubai services in December.
Actually, in recent months, Etihad, flydubai, and Israel’ El Al have operated charter services between the UAE and Israel.
