More than 70 years of waiting for this three-hour flight. On Monday, the first commercial flight of the Israeli airline El Al from Tel Aviv landed in Abu Dhabi.. This historic flight follows the surprise announcement in mid-August of the normalisation of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. It follows a peace agreement for the region in which Donald Trump's US administration has become involved.
For Israel, it is a masterstroke. The Hebrew state has succeeded in breaking its isolation among all the Gulf nations. Until now, only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, had diplomatic relations with Israel.
The Emirates are therefore the first in the Gulf. It seems likely that Qatar could soon become the second state to establish relations in the region. Some experts are even talking of an eventual normalisation with Saudi Arabia. Unthinkable just a year ago! The first flight between the two countries also received surprising support from Saudi Arabia, which allowed the Israeli aircraft to fly over its territory. Another first.
Admittedly, this inaugural flight remains unique for the time being. There are still no scheduled services authorised between Israel and the Emirates. According to the experts, it's only a matter of months. However, we can already extrapolate on the future of the airlines, which should in time regularly link Tel Aviv à Abu Dhabi, Dubai and possibly Sharjah.
An asset for Israel, a challenge for El Al
Since 1 September, Israelis have been able to buy airline tickets on Etihad through its new representative TAL Aviation.
One positive consequence for Israel will be the possibility in the near future - once the Covid-19 crisis has been brought under control - of Emirates and Etihad aircraft landing in Tel Aviv.. With all the firepower that implies for these two carriers. Tel Aviv would thus be linked to more than 157 destinations on the Emirates network in Dubai and to 84 destinations on the Etihad network in Abu Dhabi.. Israel would therefore become accessible from all over the world, particularly from Asia and Africa. Just imagine the impact on business tourism and trade.
The other side of the coin, on the other hand, this opening could further weaken the national company El Al. The latter is already very weak in Europe since an open skies agreement has encouraged the arrival of low-cost carriers. El Al is also losing market share to Turkish Airlines. The Turkish carrier offers a network of almost 200 destinations via Istanbul. Before the covid crisis, Turkish was landing up to 10 times a day in Tel Aviv.
The future presence of Emirates and Etihad is only likely to exacerbate the problems of El Al, whose financial resources are limited and which benefits from government support that is out of all proportion to its Gulf counterparts.
