Air India's Delhi-Tel Aviv direct flights resume from Dec 1; Five Boeing 777 flights every week

Earlier this year, direct Air India flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv were suspended, following the Israel-Iran conflict and the closure of the Israeli airspace. The deadline to restart the service was extended multiple times, and now Israel says the flights will restart from December 1. Air India will be the only airline operating non-stop flights between the two countries, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism said in a statement, reports PTI.

The service, which began in 2018, was popular among travellers as it reduces the travel time to 7 hours, as compared to the earlier route via Jordan. The resumption of the flight is expected to provide further momentum to tourism ties between India and Israel and make the destination more accessible to new segments of Indian travellers. "The return of Air India's direct flights is an important development for tourism between India and Israel. For Indian travellers, the restoration of a regular non-stop connection makes the journey more convenient and gives them greater flexibility when planning a visit to Israel," Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, Consul for Tourism Affairs Galit Hoffman said.

She said India remains an important market for Israel, and direct air connectivity has a significant role to play in supporting the growth of travel between our two countries. India was already a significant source market for Israel before the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly 70,000 Indian visitors annually.

"We would like more Indian travellers to discover the many different sides of Israel, beyond its longstanding appeal for pilgrimage and spiritual travel... The return of the Delhi route gives us an important opportunity to build greater awareness of this diversity and encourage more Indian travellers to experience Israel in different ways," she added.

Timings and days
Air India Flight AI139 will depart Delhi at 5 am and arrive in Tel Aviv at 8.30 am, with a flight time of approximately seven hours. In the opposite direction, flight AI140 will depart Tel Aviv at 10.30 am and arrive in Delhi at 7.45 pm, with a flight time of approximately five hours and 45 minutes. There will be five weekly flights from Sunday through Thursday aboard Boeing 777 aircraft.
(With PTI inputs)