Israel's El Al to take its row over Saudi airspace to Supreme Court

As Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel, El Al will take its own fight for access to Saudi airspace to the Supreme Court in Israel, officials said Friday. The historic Air India flight Thursday ended a 70-year flyover ban for jetliners en route to or from Israel, in what many have taken to be a sign of thawing ties between Israel and Saudi. Granting an Israeli airline access to its air space would, however, mark a dramatic diplomatic shift. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and El Al must take a more circuitous path to avoid Saudi Arabia, which can add hours to flight times. El Al has asked IATA to help it access Saudi airspace. It has also accused its own govt, which approved Air India's new route, of putting it at a disadvantage. <br/>