Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air MarociStock

Royal Air Maroc on Sunday operated its first direct flight to Israel since the two countries normalized ties in 2020.

The inaugural flight took off from Morocco's economic capital Casablanca and headed for Tel Aviv, according to the AFP news agency.

Aviation sources and local media sources said a Moroccan business delegation was on the inaugural flight, delayed by three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Casablanca/Tel Aviv for 400 euros ($440). Who would have believed it?" tweeted David Govrin, head of Israel's liaison office in Morocco.

The Moroccan carrier RAM is to fly four times a week between Casablanca and Tel Aviv, while Israeli airlines launched flights to Morocco's Marrakesh last July, although they were suspended in late November because of coronavirus travel curbs.

Morocco renewed its official relations with Israel amid a string of normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries, brokered by the Trump administration in late 2020.

In August, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita hosted Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, in the first visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to Morocco since 2003.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Rabat this past November, where he signed a ground-breaking defense memorandum of understanding.