The national carrier Air India will begin operations between New Delhi and Tel Aviv from March 22. It will deploy its 256-seater Boeing 787-800 on the route. The flight will be tri-weekly, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

This has followed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to India last month and the growing ties between the two nations. The Prime Minister announced on March 6 that Saudi Arabia had granted Air India permission to fly over its territory on its new routes to and from Tel Aviv.

The 7 hour and 25 minutes flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv will be the fastest air route between the two countries. The airline will fly over Saudi Arabian airspace, beating Israel’s El Al flight which takes nine hours to make the journey. This will be the first time an international airline will use Saudi Arabian airspace to fly to Israel.

Schedule as follows (From April 1):

Flight No. Departure Arrival Time of Departure Time of Arrival
AI139 New Delhi Tel Aviv 16.50 21.45
AI140 Tel Aviv New Delhi 23.15 9.00

The flight will also attract travellers from Southeast Asian countries and Australia.

airindia.com

Jazreen Deboo