The first-ever commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi is set to take place on Monday, with Israeli and US officials taking off to finalize the peace deal between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates.
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The 737-900 El Al aircraft, named Kiryat Gat in honor of the southern town, will have 16 Business Class seats, with one aisle. With several dozen onboard, including senior adviser to President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, some of the officials will have to sit in Economy Class.
The flight will most likely go over Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the Israeli national carrier gets a green light for such a path. The flight will last about 3 hours.
The Emirati hosts are also gearing up for the historic occasion and have already made sure that the Israeli officials will get kosher food. Israel Hayom has learned that the royal family has even contacted the well-known Orthodox Union organization, through the local Jewish community, to ensure that it sends proper mashgichim (kashrut supervisors) who would be on hand to ensure that the Jewish dietary law is followed at the hotel hosting the Israelis and where many meetings will take place.
The Israeli airline has had to bring back several pilots into active service for this flight because its staff has been on unpaid vacation for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pilots, which are still embroiled in a bitter fight with management, agreed to put their disagreements on hold for the historic occasion.
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