The historic Air India flight on Thursday ended a 70-year flyover ban for jetliners en route to or from Israel, in what many have taken to be a sign of thawing ties between Israel and Saudi. Granting an Israeli airline access to its air space would, however, mark a dramatic diplomatic shift. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and flag carrier El Al must take a more circuitous path to avoid Saudi Arabia, which can add hours to flight times. El Al has asked an airline industry lobby group, the International Air Transport Association, to help it access Saudi airspace. A spokesperson for Philippine Airlines said the company was not in any talks to launch a flight.

Source: bd News24 March 23, 2018 12:33 UTC