El Al Airlines, which is scheduled to operate the first commercial flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Monday, applied for permission to fly over Saudi Arabia.
El Al submitted an official request to Saudi authorities for permission to fly over its airspace en route to Abu Dhabi, the Israeli business daily Globes reported on Sunday. An Israeli official told the publication that the application is likely to be approved, as Riyadh in the past has allowed the use of its airspace for unofficial flights between Israel and the UAE.
The El Al Pilots Association says that the flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi would take three hours if the airline is allowed access to Saudi airspace, but could take up to eight hours if forced to use a roundabout route.
Monday’s flight will use a Boeing 737-900 to carry members of the American and Israeli delegations to Abu Dhabi, to iron out details of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accord—the normalization treaty between Israel and the UAE announced by President Donald Trump on Aug. 13.
Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will lead the Israeli delegation. The American delegation will be led by White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and outgoing U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.
