Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to Start Direct Flights to Israel Next Year

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways announced on Monday that it will launch regular flights to Tel Aviv in March, following formal relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel this year.

Flight will begin on 28 March and will be scheduled to link with Etihad services to and from China, Thailand, India and Australia, the state-owned carrier said in a statement, Reuters reports.

The announcement comes as the aviation industry faces its worst-ever crisis because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has wrecked air travel demand.

Etihad cut jobs and put forward plans to shrink into a mid-sized passenger carrier to and from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

Abu Dhabi does not allow non-residents to reach the Emirate at its airport and has not stated when the coronavirus-related ban will be lifted.

Neighboring Dubai allows foreign visitors to enter.

State-owned flydubai will be launching direct flights to Tel Aviv this month, while Dubai airport operator El Al, Israir, announced that Arkia will be launching Tel Aviv-Dubai services in December.

In recent months, Etihad, flydubai and Israel's El Al have run charter services between the UAE and Israel.