EgyptAir officially began flying to Israel today, marking the end of one the most mysterious airlines in the world.
EgyptAir launches weekly 4x flights to Israel
EgyptAir launched today flights between Cairo, Egypt, and Tel Aviv (Israel) The airline operates 4x weekly flights between these two cities as of today. The flight covers only 245 miles each way and takes between 80 and 85 minutes to complete. Schedules vary depending on the day. EgyptAir will use an Airbus A220-300 to fly the route.
EgyptAir began flying between Cairo, Tel Aviv
As I'll discuss below, EgyptAir already flies to Israel via its subsidiary, Air Sinai. This flight, which EgyptAir operates officially, is still significant because it marks EgyptAir's first attempt at flying to Israel.
EgyptAir's new services come at a time when Israel has increased cooperation with several Arab nations. Saudi Arabia allowed flights to and from Israel to use its airspace in 2020 after the UAE established normal relations with Israel. FlyDubai, Etihad and GulfAir all launched flights to Israel.
EgyptAir officially flies to Israel now
EgyptAir takes over subsidiary Air Sinai
Nonstop flights between Egypt and Israel existed before today, but these flights were operated by Air Sinai. I have written about them in the past. Air Sinai has operated flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv since 1982.
This was actually a paper-airline in that Air Sinai owned two Airbus A220s, which were unmarked and belonged to EgyptAir. These flights were operated by Air Sinai on a "wet lease" basis. EgyptAir provided both the crews and planes.
Air Sinai Airbus A220 (image by Anna Zvereva
Air Sinai used 4D instead of EgyptAir's MS designation.
This is the story of Egypt and Israel's historic 1979 peace treaty. One condition was that they had to establish a civil aviation route within three year. Air Sinai was created in 1982.
The treaty between Egypt and Egypt was not popular in the Arab World, so EgyptAir decided to create Air Sinai. The route could then be operated by EgyptAir aircrafts and EgyptAir crews without being obvious.
EgyptAir, which is improving relations with Israel, has finally agreed to fly this route with EgyptAir official planes.
Bottom line
Today, EgyptAir officially launched four weekly flights between Cairo (Cairo) and Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv). The only thing that is changing in reality is the color scheme and crews of the planes.
Air Sinai was intrigue and fun, but it only exists because an airline has to conceal that they are flying to a country. I am happy to see EgyptAir now taking over this route with its regular plane.
What do you think of EgyptAir officially taking over Air Sinai for Israel?
