Flight to Israel crosses Saudi airspace for 1st time since kingdom opened its skies

A commercial flight bound for Israel entered Saudi airspace on August 4 for the first time since Saudi Arabia opened its skies to all flights, including Israeli ones, last month.

The flight operated by Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific airline took off from Hong Kong and was set to land in Tel Aviv on the morning of August 4, according to Reuters.

A flight tracking service showed the plane flying over the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf before crossing over the Saudi coastline near the city of Damman. The plane flew over northern Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and entered Israeli territory north of the Dead Sea.

Another Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv earlier this week took a different route, flying northwest over China, Kazakhstan and Turkey, and entering Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea.

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced it had opened its airspace to all civilian overflights hours before US President Joe Biden became the first US leader to directly fly from Israel to the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s statement said it had opened its airspace “for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying,” meaning Israeli companies could shorten travel by crossing Saudi airspace. Before the announcement, Saudi Arabia had also barred overflights from non-Israeli companies that were traveling to or from the Jewish state.

Israeli airlines have still not flown over Saudi airspace since the announcement.