"Opening the skies above Saudi Arabia represents an important achievement that cannot be taken for granted, "Minister of Transport and Intelligence Yisrael Katz told an Aviation Conference, organized by the Israel Pilots Association, Globes reports.
Katz revealed that the Saudi authorities gave permission for Air India's first flight in March between Delhi and Tel Aviv to fly over the kingdom but refused permission for the return flight to fly over its airspace. Only after negotiations was he flight eventually allowed to fly back over Saudi airspace on the shorter route to Delhi.
Following the flight El Al Israel Airlines Ltd.(TASE: ELAL) petitioned the High Court demanding equal terms to its rivals in flights between Israel and Asia.
Katz said, "I believe that the skies will be open to all Israeli companies. Israel doesn't want to find itself in a situation whereby an Israeli company is at a disadvantage to other companies. There is no opposition in principle. The flight above Saudi Arabia, despite open skies agreements, harms Israeli companies and we must find a solution for this. Otherwise this reflects fair competition for developing the sector. Flights will be faster and can cover significantly more distances with direct flights to Japan, Singapore and more places, which will strengthen transportation. It will allow businesspeople and tourists to enjoy all possibilities."