(REUTERS): Saudi Arabia has agreed to let Israeli commercial airliners cross its airspace en route to the United Arab Emirates after dialogues between Saudi officials and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, a senior US official said.
According to an Israeli website, “Israel’s first commercial flight to the UAE will go ahead as planned today (Tuesday), taking off from Ben-Gurion Airport to Dubai International Airport.
Jared Kushner and Middle East envoys Aviv Berkowitz and Brian Hook raised the issue shortly after they arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks. The Israeli media outlet informed that the Tel Aviv administration asked Washington to persuade Saudi Arabia to allow the use of its airspace.
The agreement was hammered out just hours before Israel’s first commercial flight to the UAE was planned on Tuesday morning. The Israir flight was at risk of being canceled with no overflight agreement.
Later, a Saudi Arabia’s official news agency informed that the kingdom’s civil aviation authority had approved a request by UAE’s aviation authority “which includes the desire to allow flights coming to and departing from the United Arab Emirates to all countries to pass through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s airspace”.
This will help the route of Israeli flights to the UAE shorten by half. The permit was only valid for the UAE and Israeli companies will not be allowed to use the Saudi Arabian airspace for flights to other countries.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the development, terming it a tremendous breakthrough and benefits of a peace that is genuine. He also thanked Kushner and UAE crown prince for their important contribution towards the Saudi decision.
“This should resolve any issues that should occur with Israeli carriers taking people from Israel to the UAE and back and to Bahrain,” the US official said.
