1st FlyDubai commercial flight lands in Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM (AA) - The first scheduled commercial flight of the Emirati carrier FlyDubai on Thursday landed in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport arriving from Dubai.

The Israeli media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received and welcomed the inaugural flight at the airport.

Earlier, the Emirati state-owned FlyDubai said it will operate two flights daily between Dubai and Tel Aviv as of Thursday, Nov. 26.

The Emirati Etihad Airways also said it plans to operate flights to Tel Aviv as of March 2021.

Meanwhile, Israeli carriers El Al and Israir announced they will launch flight routes between airports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel next month.

The move came after the UAE and Israel signed air transportation and direct flights agreements, in the wake of their normalization deal.

In October, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority signed an agreement with the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority on air transport services between the two countries.

The UAE and Israel signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize their relations in September, with the two sides inking a host of agreements in the fields of investment, trade, science, and technology.

The normalization agreements have drawn widespread condemnations from the Palestinians, who say the accords ignore their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara