El Al Israel Airlines has asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to help it access Saudi Arabian airspace, so it can compete with Air India’s planned route between India and Israel, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The appeal to the airline industry lobby group is in response to plans revealed by Air India last month to begin direct flights to Tel Aviv which pass through Saudi airspace, a 29-percent shorter route so far off-limits to all Israel-bound commercial planes. There has been no official announcement whether Air India has received permission to fly over Saudi soil for its proposed thrice-weekly flights. In the letter, El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin said he understood no such permission would be granted to Israeli jetliners and asked IATA head Alexandre de Juniac to step in to prevent “an uneven playing field.”