Etihad Airways Signes a MOU with El-Al

The Abu Dhabi based Emirati airline Etihad signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its Israeli counterpart El-Al airlines. The MOU comes after a historic "normalization of relations" agreement signed between the two states in Washington D.C. last September.

Etihad Aviation Group, CEO Tony Douglas announced the virtual signing of the MOU in a press statement said:

“Following EL AL’s historic flight to Abu Dhabi, the first-ever flight between Israel and the UAE, this MOU is the foundation of what we envision will be a strong ongoing relationship between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. We look forward to examining ways in which the two flag carriers – Etihad and EL AL – can work more closely together to improve business operations and enhance the experience for our guests.”

The scope of MOU includes provision for joint codeshare services; plans to offer reciprocal ‘earn and burn’ on frequent flyer programs; and cooperation in the fields of Engineering and Cargo services in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

El-Al CEO, Gonen Usishkin added: “Following the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, we have been provided a great opportunity to examine the possibility of cooperation with Etihad Airways. This MOU is only the start and we believe that together, the two flag carriers will be able to provide our mutual customers with the best possible product and service.”

The signing of the MOU follows an announcement earlier this week that Etihad will begin regularly scheduled flights to Tel Aviv from 28 March 2021. Etihad became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) carrier to operate a commercial passenger flight to and from Tel Aviv on 19 October. Fellow GCC member Bahrain also signed the normalization of relations agreement with Israel in September. Flight Global reported this week that Gulf Air operated a special service from Manama to Tel Aviv on Wednesday but has no plans at present to commence a regular service between the countries.

However, the state-owned carrier flydubai will be the first UAE airline will be the first to operate regular commercial services with the commencement of flights from November 26. flydubai will operate a twice-daily service to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) with Emirates code-sharing on the flights. The 14 weekly flights constitute half of the agreed commercial passenger services allowed under the bilateral agreement signed last month between the two countries.

El Al has not yet announced plans to operate services to the UAE as it continues to gradually increase its network as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In the coming weeks, the Israeli airline will restart services to Moscow, Newark, Berlin and Brussels.