Israel carrier El Al will operate cargo flights to Turkey for first time in a decade

El Al Israel Airlines starts cargo flights, twice a week, between Tel Aviv & Istanbul from today [@MadhuvanthiS95/Twitter]




Israeli carrier El Al will begin operating cargo flights from Tel Aviv to Turkey for the first time in a decade, according to local media.

Israel airline El Al will start operating cargo flights between Tel Aviv and Turkey for the first time in ten years, local media said. The first El Al flight downed wheels in Istanbul on Sunday morning to pick up 24 tons of humanitarian aid and protective equipment meant for US medical teams on the frontlines fighting coronavirus.

Turkish aviation authorities gave El Al approval to operate flights twice weekly between Istanbul and Tel Aviv, in order to transport the goods after putting in the request last week. El Al will be using its Dreamliner plane for the route. Turkey halted flights from Tel Aviv to Turkey in 2010, after nine pro-Palestine activists were killed by Israeli forces during the Gaza flotilla incident, where the ship Mavi Marmara attempted to break the illegal naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.

After the attack, relations between Israel and Turkey became strained.




Source: Middle East Monitor