Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Saudi Arabia had granted Air India permission to fly over its territory on its new routes to and from Tel Aviv.
The new route will service direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv and it is expected to cut the flight time between India and Israel from nearly nine hours down to six hours, reducing the airline's fuel costs.
There was no immediate confirmation from either Saudi officials or Air India. Netanyahu made the announcement during a briefing in Washington to Israeli reporters after he had met U.S. President Donald Trump.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel and lifting the 70-year-old airspace ban would reflect what appears to be thawing ties between Israel and the kingdom, both U.S. allies with a shared concern over Iranian influence in the region.
Israel and India enjoy close ties. The Israeli Tourism Ministry has reportedly offered Air India a $750,000 grant as an incentive to invest in the new route.
El Al Israel Airlines, the country's flag carrier, flies four weekly flights to Mumbai. These take seven hours as they fly south toward Ethiopia and then east to India, avoiding Saudi airspace. Israel media reported that El Al stands to receive compensation for projected losses over Air India's new route, but no information was given on the nature of the compensation.
