Saudi Arabia has made a goodwill gesture to Israel as US President Joe Biden is expected in the kingdom.
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority "announces its decision to open the kingdom's airspace to all air carriers" meeting the regulatory overflight conditions, it said in a statement published Friday, July 15 on Twitter.
Friday's announcement lifts de facto restrictions for flights to and from Israel.
The country has been pushing for overflight rights to shorten routes to Asia.
The Israeli authorities also want Muslim pilgrims from Israel to be able to travel directly to Saudi Arabia.
Currently, they are forced to make expensive stopovers in third countries.
Joe Biden hailed "a historic decision", according to a statement from his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who sees it as "the result of the perseverance" of Joe Biden's diplomatic efforts.
Expected in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening, Joe Biden will also go directly from Israel to Riad, an unprecedented flight between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a country which does not officially recognize the Jewish state.
The objective of becoming a global hub in air transport
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said the move was made to "consolidate the kingdom's position as a global hub" and "improve international air connectivity".
In early May, Saudi Arabia announced its intention to become a global air transport hub and to triple its annual traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade.
For this, Riad plans to inject 100 billion dollars into the sector by 2030, to launch a new national airline and to build a new "mega airport" in the capital.
Analysts, however, question the ability of Saudi companies to compete with other regional heavyweights, such as Emirates or Qatar Airways.
With AFP and Reuters
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