Following the normalizing of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last August, it now appears that the state-owned carrier Emirates is gearing up to commence flights to the Jewish state starting in June. When the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement was signed by Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, the UAE became the third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan to normalize relations with Israel.
A normalization of relations meant that the two countries would set up diplomatic missions and allow visa-free travel, effectively opening up both to business and tourism. Realizing the potential, airlines in both countries almost immediately started planning their routes.
To make matters even better, Saudi Arabia, who does not recognize Israel, agreed to a request by the UAE to open up its airspace for flights between Israel and the Gulf State. This alleviated the need for commercial aircraft to circumnavigate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, cutting hours off some flight routes.
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Flights between DXB and TLV
Since commercial flights between Tel Aviv and the UAE began in November, EL AL, Israir, Etihad, and flydubai are all operating direct flights between the two counties. It was always assumed that at some point that Emirates would announce that it too would be offering flights between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).
The only concern was that another state-owned carrier, flydubai works in close partnership with Emirates and would negate the need for Emirates to jump into the mix.
Daily non-stop Boeing 777-300ER flights
It seems that Emirates will commence flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv starting June 15, 2021. According to One Mile At A Time, an internal Emirates internal communication says that the airline will be deploying a three-cabin configured Boeing 777-300ER on the route. The daily Emirates nonstop flights between Dubai (DXB) and Tel Aviv (TLV) will be as follows:
- Flight number EK931 will depart DXB at 14:40 and arrive at TLV at 17:05
- Flight number EK932 will depart TLV at 19:50 and arrive at DXB at 23:50
The Emirates flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai will come as fantastic news for Israeli tourists and business flyers who can now take better advantage of Emirates worldwide network that originates from its massive hub at DXB.
New premium economy seats
In other Emirates-related news, the Dubai-based carrier plans to showcase its new premium economy seats for the first time at the 2021 Arabian Travel Market. The regions leading travel and tourism exhibition will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre between the 16th and 19th of May.
The highly anticipated premium economy seats will be on display at the Emirates stand for visitors to experience its generous 19.5-inch width and abundant 40-degree pitch. Inspired by automobile-styled stitching, the seats are covered in cream-colored anti-stain leather and have the same wood paneling found in Emirates business class offerings. The seats come with six-way adjustable headrests, footrests, a large dining table, and plenty of storage and powerpoints.
What do you think about the new Emirates flights to Tel Aviv? Please let us know what you think in the comments.