Days after Air India’s new route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv via Saudi airspace was hailed as a historic breakthrough in geo-political relations, Israel’s national airline El Al reportedly is seeking cancellation of the Air India’s new route.

On Wednesday, El Al filed an urgent petition to Israel’s Supreme Court against Air India’s new route, Israeli media reports said.

Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, El Al’s CEO Gonen Usishkin and chairman Eli Defes said that by allowing Air India to fly over a country (Saudi Arabia) that does not grant El Al the same rights, the government is violating its commitments to Israel’s national carrier, the Times of Israel reported.

El Al has taken legal action against the Air India, Israeli government, its Civil Aviation Administration, Transportation Minister Israel Katz, said the Israeli airline’s spokesperson Ran Rahav.

As long as El Al is barred from flying over Saudi Arabia en route to and from Israel, it was illegal for foreign airlines to do so, Rahav said, citing the International Air Transport Association’s principles of reciprocity and equality.

“There can be no fair competition between an airline that can fly directly from destination to destination and an airline that is forced to use longer routes because of discrimination based on nationality,” Rahav added.

Historic flight

On March 22, Air India’s maiden flight to Israel landed in Tel Aviv, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace, indicating a thaw in relations between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state.

Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country.

Saudi Arabia permitted the airline to use its airspace, enabling it to take a shorter route, covering the distance in 7.25 hours, about 2.10 hours less as compared to the only other airline that flies between the two countries — Israel’s national carrier El Al.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also hailed the new Air India route as “historic”.

El Al currently flies four weekly flights to Mumbai. It takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The detour adds fuel and operational expenses.
El Al has also asked industry group IATA to help it access Saudi Arabia’s airspace.