Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish a new air route for commercial flights, linking the Tel Aviv metropolitan area with Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
On Sunday, the Israeli Transportation Ministry and UAE officials agreed to set up the new air route with 28 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The deal will be formally signed by the two sides on Tuesday, during a ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
In addition, the agreement will permit flights from the UAE and Ramon Airport in southern Israel, near the city of Eilat, with no limit on the number of commercial flights. Furthermore, 10 cargo flights will be permitted between the UAE and Israel every week.
It is expected that the first flights between Israel and the UAE will begin within a matter of weeks.
The opening of the air routes between Israel and the Arab Gulf mark the first step in the opening up of tourism and investment opportunities to the two sides, in keeping with the Abraham Accords.
“This is a historic, meaningful day for the State of Israel,” said Transportation Minister Miri Regev (Likud).
Earlier on Sunday, an Israeli-US delegation arrived in Bahrain for talks to formally establish diplomatic relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab state.