Air India to start direct flight between India - Israel
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NEW DELHI - Air India is examining the possibility of operating flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv as the carrier weighs various options amid issues of overflying rights, a senior airline official said.
While the flagship carrier has been expanding its international presence, efforts to restart services to Israel are yet to take off. There were plans to commence the flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year.
In the last four years, the airline has started services to 14 international destinations, with the latest being direct flight from the national capital to Danish capital Copenhagen.
According to the official, the flight to Tel Aviv could have been started earlier, but the route available as of now is very long.
A flight of more than nine-hour long journey to the Israeli city from Delhi would make the operations “commercially unviable” since duration of a flight on a straight route to this destination would take only around five-and-a-half hours, the official told PTI.
Against the backdrop of geopolitical issues, there are issues related to getting permission to overfly certain countries to reach Tel Aviv.