History: First ever commercial Israeli flight passes over Sudanese territory
Past month has been rife with historic first flights to and from countries that Israel previously had no diplomatic relation with, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain
A Boeing 737 from Israel to Uganda flew above Khartoum on Sunday, making it the first Israeli commercial flight to pass over Sudanese air space, according to Ynet.
The flight from Tel-Aviv to Entebbe was operated by Sun d'Or, a charter subsidiary of El-Al and carried no passengers on the way to Uganda. The plane will be used to bring 153 Ugandans to Israel as a part of an agriculture project under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The five-hour flight is half an hour shorter than it used to be because of the use of Sudanese airspace.
It's the first time that an Israeli commercial plane legally flew over Sudanese territory following the normalization of relations that were declared two weeks ago. No formal peace treaty has been signed yet, and the countries have no official diplomatic relations.
Last June another El Al plane flew above Sudan, but it was not a commercial flight, as it was bringing a delegation from Argentina to Israel. This first commercial flight is expected to become the new flight path for Israeli planes heading to sub-Saharan Africa.
Sudan joins Saudi Arabia in countries now allowing Israeli planes to use their air space as part of the Abraham accords. This will significantly reduce flight time, fuel and carbon emissions for planes going to and from Israel.
The past month has been rife with historic first flights to and from countries that Israel previously had no diplomatic relation with, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The agreements have created a new geopolitical and economic order in the Middle East and North Africa.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
