First direct Air India flight lands at Tel Aviv airport

First direct Air India flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport in Israel at 1:15 am Indian Time. Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz on the tarmac termed it as a historic moment. 

It was also first scheduled service to Israel which was allowed to cross Saudi airspace. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin was also there to welcome the flight.There will now be three



flights weekly in each direction, ending a decades-long Saudi ban on the use of its airspace for commercial flights to Israel.The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. 

Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic relations, like much of the Arab world. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel.