On November 4, 2020, United Arab Emirates airline Fly Dubai has said it will start direct flights to Israel this month with twice-daily services between Dubai and Tel Aviv.

In August, UAE agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel, including launching direct flights between the two countries. Fly Dubai will operate 14 weekly services between the UAE’s and Israel’s financial capitals from November 26. Fly Dubai is a state-own company and is the UAE’s biggest airline.

The citizens of UAE and Israel are able to visit each others’ country without applying for a visa before traveling as part of agreements recently signed between the two states.

The UAE is the third Arab country to normalize relations with Israel following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. However, its move was quickly followed by Bahrain, and Sudan followed suit last month.

The agreements have been roundly condemned by the Palestinians, who have accused the Arab states of “betrayal”.

Israeli airlines IsrAir and Arkia have advertised packages to Dubai for flights starting on December 9, but say they are yet to receive final approval for the flights.

El Al Israel Airlines, the country’s biggest airline, has not advertised flights. The aviation industry is enduring its worst crisis after the coronavirus pandemic this year crippled most flights.

El AL and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways have recently operated flights being the two countries carrying official delegations.

This article was edited using the data from the Aljazeera.com, Middleeastmonitor.com, Eurasiantimes.com, and Economictimes.indiatimes.com.