El Al sues Israel after Air India flies through Saudi Airspace

The Israeli govt has hailed Air India’s new nonstop service from New Delhi to Tel Aviv as a historic breakthrough — the carrier is the first commercial airline to take a geopolitical shortcut through Saudi Arabian airspace. But El Al still has to take the long way and fears that it will suffer serious financial damage from what it views as aerial discrimination. So in a first of its own, El Al petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court Wednesday, filing suit against the govt; the Civil Aviation Authority; prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the transportation minister, Yisrael Katz; and Air India. Even though Saudi Arabia granted permission for the route, El Al is asking the Israeli court to prevent Air India from taking the shorter path unless the Israeli carrier receives a similar permit. <br/>