El Al plane carries new message of 'peace' on official flight to UAE

The company's Boeing 737-900 4X-EHD, named after the city of Kiryat Gat, will fly from Ben-Gurion Airport, and in a tribute to the historic flight, the word "Peace" was painted in Hebrew.

By ALEX WINSTON
'Peace', written in Hebrew, Arabic and English, is painted on the first plane to make an official flight between Israel and the UAE, August 30, 2020 (photo credit: EL AL)
'Peace', written in Hebrew, Arabic and English, is painted on the first plane to make an official flight between Israel and the UAE, August 30, 2020
(photo credit: EL AL)
El Al's Boeing 737-900, which is to make Israel's first official flight to the UAE, will bring an extra message of hope and peace to the Jewish state's newest friend in the region. 
The company's Boeing 737-900 4X-EHD, named after the city of Kiryat Gat, will fly from Ben-Gurion Airport on Monday morning, and in a tribute to the historic flight, the word "Peace" was painted in Hebrew, English and Arabic on to the plane.
In May, the first-ever direct flight from Abu Dhabi landed in Israel, but it was a cargo plane carrying aid for Palestinian. Monday's flight will take Israeli and US officials to the UAE, after Israel and the UAE announced a pact to normalize ties last month.
The route between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi is bound to prove popular with Israelis, who will enjoy the chance to visit somewhere new and exotic. 
  
Ben-Gurion Airport's website, which lists upcoming arrivals and departures, shows that the first flight will depart Tel Aviv for Abu Dhabi on Monday, August 31 at 10 a.m. The first return flight will take place the following day, and is due to land at 3:15 p.m.
The route will be operated by El Al, and the Boeing 737 was chosen over the Dreamline 787 as the latter is not yet equipped with the Israel Aerospace Industries's Skyshield systems, according to Ynet. As part of the security requirements, El Al was required to set up an aircraft with the protection system manufactured by IAI.
The Embassy of Israel in the USA tweeted the scheduled flight on Friday, commenting: "FYI: the flight from Israel is flight number 971 (phone country code); the returning flight is 972 (phone country code)!"

And it seems excitement for the anticipated flight is reflected in the UAE, with the State of Israel's official Twitter account tweeting a video of Emirati children waving Emirati and Israeli flags while singing "Hatikva."

 


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