Israel and Jordan sign historic airspace agreement
The deal allows flights crossing over one country to also fly over the other.
By LAHAV HARKOVJordan's King Abdullah II (R) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as leaders gathered to deliver a joint statement on Middle East Peace talks in the East Room of the White House in Washington September 1, 2010(photo credit: REUTERS/JASON REED)
Israel and Jordan reached an agreement allowing flights to cross over both countries’ airspace, the Transportation Ministry announced on Thursday.The deal allows flights crossing over one country to also fly over the other.The agreement will significantly shorten the length of flights from Israel to the Gulf and East Asia, cutting the time it takes to travel between countries and cutting gas costs and pollution.It will also allow the UAE and Bahrain, which recently made peace with Israel, along with other countries in the region, to fly over Israeli airspace.Jerusalem and Amman reached the deal after several years, but peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia allowing Israeli flights to the UAE over its airspace hastened the process.The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, known as EUROCONTROL, played a major part in negotiating the agreement.Transportation Minister Miri Regev said “we are once again breaking new boundaries, and this time it is in the air.“Thanks to this agreement, Israel is better integrated into the region,” she added. “We are opening new routes for cooperation in transportation, economics and diplomacy with the states sharing borders and shared interests with us, and a partnership in the vision for regional peace.”
