PAL to launch flights to Israel in 1st quarter

Philippine Airlines may launch flights to Israel within the year, helping to bolster tourism and trade. Manuel Tamayo, undersecretary for aviation at the Department of Transportation, said they were finalising certain details for PAL to carry out flights between Manila and Tel Aviv by Q1 of 2019. Tamayo added that the Philippines was currently working on securing a final agreement with Saudi Arabia to use the latter’s airspace. This, he said, would cut flights to Tel Aviv by more than an hour. A flight between Manila and Tel Aviv without using Saudi Arabia’s airspace could take around 12 and a half hours. Israel’s Ministry of Tourism director Hassan Madah had said that Filipino tourists to Israel more than doubled to 23,500 between 2015 and 2017. They mainly flew through the Hong Kong and Turkish flag carriers. <br/>