TUS Airways takes passengers on first direct flight from Israel to Qatar

  

TUS Airways takes passengers on first direct flight from Israel to Qatar  

Operation of the first direct flight from Israel to Qatar ahead of the World Cup kicked-off on Sunday. It is the first commercial service to operate on this route in history as both countries have no diplomatic ties. 

The flight was operated by Cypriot airline TUS Airways. Originally it had been expected that the flights would have to touch down in Cyprus, to avoid flying a prohibited route directly to Qatar. But 10 days before the tournament was due to kick off, FIFA announced that it had brokered a deal that would allow direct flights between Doha and Tel Aviv for the month-long event, FIFA stated.

Both Israelis and Palestinians are permitted to fly the route, although Qatari officials noted to Reuters that “…any escalation in Jerusalem, Gaza or West Bank during (the World Cup) will risk the cancellation of the agreement including the direct flights."

TUS Airways flight number U81162 took off at 11:14 on Sunday morning from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. After two and a half hours in the sky, it touched down in Doha at just after 14:40 local time.

Around 180 people were reported to be onboard the Airbus A320. The airplane, registered 5B-DDL, is a 16-year-old A320-200 which was originally delivered to Air Malta in 2006. It is on lease to TUS Airways from AerCap. 

TUS Airways has permission to operate flights to the World Cup twice-weekly for the duration of the tournament. More than 10,000 Israelis and Palestinians are understood to be holding tickets for the event. Some are expected to travel to neighboring Jordan for onward flights to Qatar.

Source: Zawya.com, simpleflying.com