Emirates Airline launched service for the first time to Israel, joining El Al Israel Airlines and FlyDubai operating on the Dubai (DXB)-Tel Aviv (TLV) route.

Emirates will fly the DXB-TLV route daily using a Boeing 777-300ER. Flight time on the route is just over 3 hr.

“The ties between Israel and the UAE are strategic economic ties,” Israel Transport and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli said in a statement, adding: “On my last visit to the UAE, I signed agreements that will facilitate the trade and mobility between us, mobility as a tool to empower the citizens and economies of both countries.”

Emirates noted that 500 Israeli companies have operations in the UAE. In addition to the three airlines serving the DXB-TLV route, Etihad Airways and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi serve the Abu Dhabi (AUH)-Tel Aviv market 3X-weekly and 5X-weekly, respectively.

Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha said: “From the time we first announced plans to include Tel Aviv in our global reservation systems, we received strong demand from travelers–not only in Israel, but also from many of our destinations including to and from the UAE. Some of the high demand also came from Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, the United States and the Philippines. This reflects the strength of our product offering, the reach of our global network and the efficiency of our hub Dubai for worldwide connections.”

Emirates said flights on the DXB-TLV route “have been timed to provide convenient access to Dubai, and connections to popular destinations like Australia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.”

Meanwhile, Emirates said it will be operating 31 additional flights between DXB and Jeddah (JED) from June 23 to July 20 to accommodate Haj season demand. During the same period, it will additionally fly 2X-daily flights between DXB and Medina (MED) in Saudi Arabia.

Also, Emirates on June 23 increased frequencies on its DXB-Barcelona (BCN) in Spain-Mexico City (MEX) routing from 6X-weekly to daily. “Emirates will now increase its average capacity and offer by around 2,000 seats per week to and from the Mexican capital,” the airline said.