EL AL is set to resume non-stop flight services from Delhi and Mumbai to Israel from late October 2023, after a three-year break. The overfly agreement with Saudi Arabia and Oman for Israeli airlines was recently finalised, allowing for a shorter flight duration of 5.5 hours for Mumbai and 6.5 hours for Delhi. The flight ticket sales start in April 2023, starting at $399 for Lite tickets. EL AL will operate four non-stop weekly flights from Mumbai to Israel on the Boeing 737 with Economy and Business service classes, and two non-stop weekly flights to Delhi on either the Boeing 787 or 777, both wide-bodied aircraft.
Shlomi Zafrani, VP of Commerce and International Affairs, EL AL, said, “We are excited to launch these new flight routes from India to Israel, which were made possible thanks to the overfly agreement with Oman. We anticipate there will be high demand for these flights due to vast business activity between the two countries, as well as constant growth in Indian tourism to Israel. Israel is a beloved vacation destination to the Indian people, whether it is a family-oriented trip or an organised group vacation.”
Air India is scheduled to increase their frequencies from the existing three daily flights per week to five daily flights per week from March 26, 2023. In addition, they will be starting to operate direct flights on the sectors from Mumbai and Bengaluru by June and Oct respectively with competitive prices.
According to Sammy Yahia, “The new announcements from El Al and Air India will boost tourism from and to Israel. The new air corridor over Saudi Arabia and Oman is likely to stimulate growth in the aviation sector. The airlines from India will be able to offer more competitive prices and reduce the flying time to five hours direct flight making it easier for passengers to travel. The statistics speak for themselves, Jan and Feb 2023 is 24 per cent better than 2019.”
