Report: Saudi Arabia May Permit Pilgrim Flights From Israel, Commercial Flights Over Airspace

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A CNN report Wednesday claimed that Saudi Arabia may allow all commercial flights to and from Israel to overfly its airspace and also permit direct charter flights to and from Israel for Muslims participating in the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.

The report cited “people familiar with the matter”, claiming that an announcement will be made already this week as President Biden visits the region on a trip which will include the first direct flight from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Biden hinted in an article he published in the Washington Post prior to his departure that Israel and Saudi Arabia were growing closer and that his direct flight represented a “small symbol” of the warming ties between Israel and the Arab world and “steps toward normalization.”

Despite the fact that there are no official diplomatic relations between Israel and the Saudis, covert relations have existed for a while, with a much-touted 2020 secret trip made by former Prime Minister Netanyahu to Saudi Arabia’s southern coast near Israel to meet with Mohammed Bin Salman. Bin Salman now sees Israel as a strategic partner in the Sunni nations battle against Iranian influence in the region.

Saudi Arabia did begin allowing Israeli airlines to fly over its territory in a special air corridor for flights to and from the UAE and Bahrain, after the Abraham accords were signed in 2020. But Israel has yet to receive such access for flights to and from India, Thailand and China, for example. If the Saudis approve such flights, journeys to the Far East from Israel will be considerably shortened.

Last week, Israel’s Regional Cooperation Minister Isawi Frej filed an official request with Saudi authorities to allow direct travel for Israeli Muslim pilgrims setting off on the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for all Muslims physically and financially able to make the journey. Currently, Saudi Arabia accepts Muslim pilgrims arriving from Israel to Mecca but requires them to travel through a third country, which Frej said could cost up to $11,500 for a week-long trip. Meanwhile, pilgrims from neighboring Arab countries pay about half that amount.

In the meantime, Biden administration officials have downplayed the option of full relations between Israel and the Saudi in the near future, but claimed that the cooperation between the two countries was expanding.

“Our job is to go deeper with the countries that have signed up and to go wider if we can,” CNN cited one US official as saying.