Israel-UAE flights ‘delayed to January’

Direct flights between Israel and the UAE, slated to begin in October after a landmark normalization deal, are to be postponed until January because of the coronavirus, an Israeli official says.

The air link announced after the two states signed the deal at the White House last month aims to open up tourism and new business ventures despite the COVID-19 slowdown.

But a second lockdown in Israel, which now has one of the world’s highest infection rates per capita, has put plans on hold, denting hopes for quick gains.

“I feel with the COVID that we’re kind of running with our hands behind our backs,” Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum tells AFP during a visit to Dubai, a member of the United Arab Emirates.

“There were supposed to be direct flights in October, then Israel went into shutdown. Now, when I speak to officials here and there, we’re looking at the first of January,” says Hassan-Nahoum, who is also co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council.

Despite the delay, Hassan-Nahoum said the tourism sector will be among the first to benefit from the normalization agreement.

With the accord having taken everyone by surprise, there are few firm projections, but she says industry experts estimate 100,000-250,000 visitors a year from each side.

— AFP