Oman lifts airspace closure for El Al

With new rules for air traffic, Oman is now following Saudi Arabia in a sign of rapprochement with Israel. 

In the future, the airspace will be open to all airlines that meet the authority's requirements for an overflight, the Gulf State's aviation authority announced today. The vaguely worded statement means that all commercial connections to and from Israel are now possible and Israeli airlines are also allowed to fly through Oman airspace. This is reported by the German online portal Aero.

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen called this a "historic and significant decision for the Israeli economy and for Israeli travelers." Oman and Israel do not have diplomatic relations. Saudi Arabia also opened its airspace to Israel in July last year. The Kingdom released a similar statement at the time, which also made no explicit mention of Israel.