Launch of the first direct commercial link between Israel and Dubai
The first passengers from Dubai have just landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
November 26, 2020. REUTERS - AMIR COHEN
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Two months after the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the airline Flydubai launched, this Thursday, November 26, the first direct flights to Tel Aviv.
Ultimately, 28 weekly flights should connect the two cities.
In particular, many Israeli tourists are expected in the emirate for Hanukkah, the last holiday of the Jewish calendar.
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With our correspondent in Dubai
,
Nicolas Keraudren
After the first official flights, low-cost airline Flydubai launched the first direct air link between the United Arab Emirates and Israel on Thursday, two months after relations between the two countries normalized under the aegis of the United States.
The plane, which took off Thursday morning from Dubai International Airport, landed in the late morning at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, under the satisfied gaze of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"
It is the realization of a dream
", declared on the spot the head of the Israeli government affirming that the nationals of Israel and Emirati would soon be able to travel from one country to another "
without visa
".
"
We are changing history, and not by walking but by flying,
" said Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he wanted to put the "
Middle East at the center of the world
" and make it an "
example
" for the rest of humanity with these normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries.
Tourists and businessmen
Tourists will not be the only ones to benefit from the first direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai.
Many Israeli investors are also expected to flock to the economic capital of the UAE.
Hamdan Al Kindi, an Emirati businessman, is excited about this new market.
"
We are working on a few files," he
told RFI
.
Israeli banks have come here.
Kosher restaurants have already opened in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Many Israeli tourism companies are also coming to explore the opportunities.
So it's a win-win situation for both countries and we have to take advantage of it
.
"
The day after the signing of the standardization agreement, this entrepreneur had also created a consultancy company for Israeli investors.
For him, this agreement with Israel does not constitute a betrayal of the Palestinians.
“
First, it stopped the annexation plans.
Then it's good for the Palestinians: quite a few Arab Israelis - who are Palestinians - are here looking for business opportunities.
So they too benefit
.
"
The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyane, for his part, declared in Abu Dhabi that the agreement with Israel would meet the “
aspirations of the peoples of the region to achieve prosperity and progress
”.
"
We have always had to adapt our policy to what ensures the security and stability of our State and our region
", declared the Head of State, quoted by the official news agency WAM.
In the United Arab Emirates, this standardization agreement has not been challenged.
In this absolute monarchy, dissidents risk prison.
(With AFP
)
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United Arab Emirates
Israel
Diplomacy
Aeronautics