The Bahraini national carrier, Gulf Air, said in a statement that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Israeli company El Al Airlines on Thursday, and that it would start operating direct flights to Tel Aviv starting January 7.
The statement pointed out that the memorandum of understanding allows discussions on possible code-sharing operations between Manama and Tel Aviv, and on international flight networks, and includes plans for further commercial cooperation in fields such as air freight, engineering and travel technology.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding came during a visit to Israel by a Bahraini delegation led by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al-Zayani.
Al-Zayani said that Bahrain hopes to exploit more opportunities in the aviation field with El Al.
On Thursday, Gulf Air began a campaign promoting its expected commercial flights to Tel Aviv, and placed a prominent advertisement on the front of its website saying, "As of January, Tel Aviv is our newest destination."
"We are pleased to announce our flight to Tel Aviv from January 2021," the company said on its Instagram account. "Join us for a visit to a modern city rich in history."
"More details and flight dates will be announced soon," she added.
In Tel Aviv, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries announced, on Thursday, that it will take over the maintenance of Gulf Air aircraft that land in Israel.
The Israeli company said, in a statement, that it signed the maintenance agreement during the Bahraini delegation's visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.