Saudi Arabia announced on Friday the opening of its airspace to “all carriers”, in an apparent gesture of goodwill towards Israel, hours before US President Joe Biden arrives in the kingdom.
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority “announces its decision to open the airspace of the kingdom to all air carriers” meeting the regulatory overflight conditions, it said in a statement on Twitter.
She said the move was made to “consolidate the kingdom’s position as a global hub”.
Joe Biden will also go directly from Tel Aviv to Jeddah (west), an unprecedented flight between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a country which does not officially recognize the Jewish state.
The Democratic president “welcomes the historic decision of the leaders of Saudi Arabia to open their airspace to all civil carriers without discrimination”, including “flights to and from Israel”, said in a statement his security adviser National, Jake Sullivan.
Mr. Sullivan sees it as “the result of the perseverance” of Joe Biden’s diplomatic efforts.
Ahead of Mr. Biden’s arrival in Israel on Wednesday, Washington had hinted that more Arab countries might forge ties with Israel, fueling speculation over whether 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 Abraham Accords brokered by the United States.
Shortly following the announcement of the Abraham Accords in 2020, Saudi Arabia allowed overflights of its territory by an Israeli plane en route to Abu Dhabi, and announced that flights from the Emirates to “all countries “might fly over the kingdom.
Friday’s announcement lifts de facto overflight restrictions for planes traveling to or leaving Israel.
Israel has lobbied for overflight rights to shorten routes to Asia. The Israeli authorities also want Muslim pilgrims from Israel to be able to travel directly to Saudi Arabia.
In early May, Saudi Arabia announced its intention to become a global air transport hub and to triple its annual traffic to reach 330 million passengers by the end of the decade.
Riyadh also plans to inject 100 billion dollars into the sector by 2030, to launch a new national airline and to build a new “mega airport” in the capital Riyadh.
Analysts, however, question the ability of Saudi companies to compete with other regional heavyweights, such as Emirates or Qatar Airways.
