DRNew Delhi: National carrier Air India will begin non-stop flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv in Israel starting March 22. The airline has confirmed flying thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday on Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner that has 18 business class and 238 economy seats.
The announcement has come at a time when Indian tourist arrival to Israel has recorded a whopping growth of 50 per cent in January and 25 per cent in February 2018 vis-à- vis the same period in 2017. Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines, said, “In light of the significant increase in tourist arrival from India over the past few years, the Ministry of Tourism has been in talks with Air India and other airlines to increase their flights and seat capacity to Israel.
Air India’s direct flight connectivity from New Delhi to Tel Aviv is great news especially with its shorter flight duration and the airline’s strong domestic network within the country. The direct flights from both Mumbai and New Delhi by El Al and Air India respectively will help meet the growing demand and enable us to achieve our target of
one lakh Indian arrivals in 2018.”
The aircraft will depart from New Delhi at 4.50 pm and arrive in Tel Aviv at 8.25 pm. On its return leg, the plane will depart from Tel Aviv at 10.15 pm and land in Delhi the next day at 9 am. With a one-way duration of 7 hours and 10 minutes, Air India will be the fastest non-stop flight between India and Israel taking a straight route between the two countries.
In addition to Air India, Israel’s national carrier El Al currently has four weekly non-stop flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv and will soon increase its frequency. Arkia has also expressed interest to begin operations soon and introduce direct flights between Israel and India. The Ministry of Tourism along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to facilitate similar introductions, including relaxing visa requirements and express visa services
through VFS to encourage Indian travellers to visit Israel.
