Israel, Jordan sign deal to allow flights to use each other’s airspace

Jordan and Israel on Thursday signed a historic agreement allowing their commercial flights to pass through each other’s airspaces. As reported by Israeli media, the deal was signed between the civil aviation authorities of both the countries.

With the signing of this agreement, lengths of flights will significantly reduce between Israel, the GCC countries and the Far East on one hand and from Jordan to Americas and Europe on the other. It will further contribute to saving of fuel  costs and reductions in flight prices.

According to a statement issued by Israel’s Transport Ministry, Israeli and Jordanian flights are permitted to use each other’s airspace during weeknights between 11 pm and 6 am local time. On weekends, they will be given an extended window of 12 hours, with the provision of 24-hour window during 12 holidays per year.

In the statement, Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev also noted that the agreement will help the country in becoming more integrated into the region.

“We are opening up new ways of cooperation in the fields of transportation and economy,” she said.

Israel and Jordon did not use each other’s airspace for flights to other destinations across the world, even though direct flights have been operating between the two countries for years. Amman and Jerusalem entered into the accord after several years of negotiations as talks were accelerated by the recent breakthrough of Abraham Accords between Israel and other Arab Gulf countries. Earlier in September, historic peace deal was signed between the UAE and Israel paving way for normalising ties in the region. At the same time, Saudi Arabia had also announced the opening of its airspace to all flights flying to and from the UAE.

This agreement will also facilitate flights from the UAE and Bahrain to use the Israeli airspace to fly to their destination countries.

“UAE and Bahrain airlines, as well as carriers from all over the world, will in the near future be able to begin flying over Israel to destinations in Europe and North America, and back,” the statement added.

As per media reports, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) played a crucial role in negotiating the terms of the accord.

Neighbouring countries Jordan and Israel had signed a peace agreement in 1994 even as they have had hostile relations over the past years.