'IA to operate now four Delhi-Tel Aviv flights per week'

Air India is set to increase the frequency of its Delhi-Tel Aviv flights from three to four per week from July 14 to cater to the growing tourist flow between India and Israel, said an Israeli tourism ministry official today.

The Indian national carrier will now fly a 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner every Saturday, in addition to those presently being operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, it said in a statement.

At present, besides the Air India, Israeli carrier El Al operates flights between Mumbai and Tel Aviv.

The ministry said another Israeli airline 'Arkia' too has also showed interest to operate direct flights between Israel and India to cater to the significant rise in the air traffic volume between the two countries.

"We are pleased with the Air India's move to increase weekly flight frequency in light of the significant rise in tourist arrivals from India. The outbound numbers to Israel have grown exponentially in the last few years and this introduction will help meet the growing demand from India.

"India is an important market for us and I am delighted to say that it has been one of the best performing markets in Asia with a 31 per cent growth last year over 2016 and 31 per cent between January and May 2018 over 2017," Director of Israel Ministry of Tourism for India and Philippines Hassan Madah said in a statement.

Israel has also reduced its visa fees for Indian citizens to Rs 1,100 from Rs 1,700 to encourage Indian travellers visit Israel, he said.

With one way duration of 7 hours and 10 minutes, Air India is currently the fastest nonstop flight between India and Israel taking a straight route between the two countries, overflying Saudi Arabia.

The Delhi-Tel Aviv AI 139 flight made its maiden journey on March 22 this year and since then the occupancy rate has gone up from 60 per cent to over 80 to 83 per cent, making it a profitable route for Air India, said Air India sources.

While the initial plan was to make it a daily service, it was, however, decided to make it a four days a week service and increase the frequency further thereafter, they said.