Israel, Egypt expand direct flights with new Tel Aviv-Sharm al-Sheikh route

Israel and Egypt have agreed to increase direct flights between the two nations with the opening of a new route between Ben Gurion Airport and the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The new flights are expected to start as early as next month, during the week of the upcoming Passover holiday.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomes the announcement as “another step in the warming of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.”

“Cooperation between the two countries is expanding in many areas, and it contributes to both peoples and the stability of the region,” Bennett says.

The agreement was hammered out in recent days after talks on security measures required for the route to operate were held between the Shin Bet and National Security Council and unnamed “other parties,” along with Egyptian government, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

The Prime Minister’s Office says the opening of the new route was first discussed in the meeting between Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Sharm el-Sheikh last September.

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has long been a favored vacation destination for Israelis.