El Al plane (file)
El Al plane (file)Moshe Shai/Flash 90

The government of the Australian state of New South Wales is exploring the possibility of having direct flights from Sydney to Tel Aviv, the Australian Jewish News reported.

According to NSW Premier Chris Minns, his government is looking into the flights due to Saudi Arabia and Oman opening their airspace to El Al.

“We hope it can get even shorter with direct flights from Sydney to Tel Aviv rather than just from Melbourne to Tel Aviv. That's something we will be revisiting,” he said, speaking at a Yom Ha’atzmaut event hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Zionist Federation of Australia and the Zionist Council of NSW.

Sydney is approximately 545 miles from Melbourne. The average flight time from Sydney to Melbourne is 1.5 hours, making a direct flight from Sydney to Israel more convenient for passengers living in or close to the city.

Along with Melbourne, Sydney has the largest Jewish community in Australia.

“Due to new flights and the political realities that have changed in that part of the world, particularly over airspace over Saudi Arabia and the new relationship with the United Arab Emirates, a flight can now be made in a day,” Minns said.

“We think that’s important for the state,” he added.