This is a strong gesture. A few hours after the arrival of US President Joe Biden in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced in a press release on Friday the opening of its airspace to all airlines, complying with regulatory overflight conditions. This announcement thus lifts the de facto overflight restrictions for aircraft traveling to and from Israel. Joe Biden will also fly directly from Israel to Riyadh, an unprecedented flight between Israel and Saudi Arabia, while the kingdom does not officially recognize the Jewish state.
The Democratic president “(welcomed) the historic decision by Saudi Arabia’s leaders to open its airspace to all civil airlines without discrimination,” including “flights to and from Israel,” his national security adviser said in a press release. Jake Sullivan. . The latter sees it as “the result of the perseverance” of Joe Biden’s diplomatic efforts. In its press release, the civil aviation authority specified that the decision to open its airspace was taken to “consolidate the kingdom’s position as a global center.”
Before Joe Biden’s arrival in Israel on Wednesday, Washington had hinted that more Arab countries could forge ties with Israel, fueling speculation that Saudi Arabia would be next. The kingdom showed no opposition when its regional ally, the United Arab Emirates, recognized Israel in 2020, followed by Bahrain and Morocco, under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
Official ties with the Jewish state are unlikely
However, analysts predict that Riyadh is unlikely to agree to official ties with the Jewish state during Joe Biden’s visit, or as long as the 86-year-old King Salman reigns. Shortly after the announcement of the Abraham Accords in 2020, Saudi Arabia allowed overflights of its territory by an Israeli plane en route to Abu Dhabi, announcing that Emirates flights to “all countries” could fly over the kingdom.
Israel has pushed for overflight rights to shorten routes to Asia. Israeli authorities also want Muslim pilgrims from Israel to be able to travel directly to Saudi Arabia. Currently, they are forced to make expensive stopovers in third countries.
Saudi Arabia announced in early May its intention to become a global air transport hub and triple its annual traffic, reaching 330 million passengers by the end of the decade. Riyadh also plans to pump $100bn into the sector by 2030, launch a new national airline and build a new “mega airport” in the capital.
Source: BFM TV
