Air Seychelles first airline to fly from "Israel" over Saudi Arabia
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On Wednesday, the first flight from "Tel Aviv" to Seychelles departs from the Israeli occupation Ben Gurion Airport over Saudi Arabia.
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Air Seychelles first airline to fly from "Israel" over Saudi Arabia.
The airline's press released that the first flight from "Tel Aviv" to the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles took off today from the Israeli occupation Ben Gurion airport and traveled over Jordanian and Saudi airspace.
Air Seychelles operates three weekly direct flights from "Tel Aviv" to Mahe, the Republic of Seychelles' capital. Previously, it was obliged to fly over foreign seas on an indirect route at a low height. The flights are operated by an Airbus A320neo.
"We are happy about the change in Saudi policy and the effect it has on the route between the two countries. The fact that the flight can take a more direct route and at a higher altitude means a reduction in fuel burn," Charles Johnson, CCO of Air Seychelles was quoted as saying.
Read next: US planning normalization "road map" for Saudi Arabia, "Israel": Axios
Apart from the environmental advantage, the new route "will allow us to carry up to 20 more passengers on each flight" Johnson claimed.
The airline is the first to receive Saudi authorization to fly flights from "Israel" over Saudi airspace that are not bound for the Emirates. Earlier in July, Israeli national airline El Al made an official request to Saudi Arabia's aviation authority to fly over its airspace.
On July 15, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced that Saudi Arabia is opening its airspace for all civil air carriers for overflying, in a gesture to "Israel".
CNN cited sources familiar with the matter that Saudi Arabia was planning to permit flights to and from the occupied lands, a step that the Israeli occupation welcomed with arms wide open.
It goes without saying that the Israeli occupation could not be more thankful to Saudi Arabia for its incremental step toward official normalization, which Riyadh repeatedly denied, but until when?
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