Israeli airlines can now fly over Oman after the Gulf nation opened its airspace for all carriers that meet the civil aviation authority’s requirements.
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen on Thursday thanked Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said for the decision which will shorten flight times to Asia.
“It’s a historic and significant decision for the Israeli economy and the Israeli traveler,” Cohen said.
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Last year Saudi Arabia allowed Israeli airlines to use its airspace but because Omani airspace was closed, Israeli carriers could not use the route to fly to Asia. The Saudi Arabian decision came after United States President Joe Biden visited the region last year.
Flight from Israel to Asian destinations such as Thailand and India would be shortened by at least two hours.
Israel and Oman have no diplomatic relations, but the Gulf state seemed to have been less reluctant in publicizing its relations with Israel. In 2018, the late Sultan Qaboos received Netanyahu in Muscat.
Oman was one of the first countries to congratulate the UAE and Bahrain, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.
Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, on Thursday, thanked Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said and described it as a “historic decision that will shorten the route to Asia, lower costs for Israelis and help Israeli airlines be more competitive”.
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Israeli flag carrier, El Al, said that beyond shortening current flight times, it would now examine opening new routes to Australia and restarting flights to India.
Opening Saudi airspace to flights to and from Israel was one focus of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region last summer, as the United States and Israel sought to build on normalization pacts between Israel and the two Gulf Arab states.
The Saudi-Omani corridor would expand such flights to other destinations.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the corridor would shorten the flight route by more than two hours to some Asian destinations.
The step comes three months after the Omani Shura Council (Parliament) put forward a law stipulating harsher punishment for dealing with Israel.
Muscat has repeatedly affirmed its support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.