The newly-implemented flights are a result of the Trump administration’s brokering of the Abraham Accords in 2020; Future direct flights will take place twice per week.
Amid the establishment of direct flights between Israel and Bahrain as of Thursday, Israelis and Bahrainis can now choose between two flights on a weekly basis, accompanied by a fight time of less than three hours. The first direct flight between the two countries took place on Thursday and landed at Ben Gurion Airport, inbound from Manama.
Gulf Air Acting CEO Capt. Waleed Al-Alawi responded to the flight, stating, “We are delighted to announce the launch of our Bahrain-Tel Aviv route as part of the historic Bahraini-Israeli relations. As the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, we take great pride in supporting our leadership and the Kingdom in their role of preserving peace and prosperity in the region. We hope this is merely the beginning of developing further opportunities.”
The timing of the flight coincided with Yair Lapid’s visit to Bahrain to inaugurate Israel’s new embassy. Lapid is the Jewish State’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. The continued enhancement of the relationship between the two countries follows the Trump administration’s brokering of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which would lead to diplomatic normalization between Israel and multiple Arab nations, including the UAE, Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco.
