EgyptAir Launching Tel Aviv-Cairo Route

Egyptian national air carrier EgyptAir plans to start operating direct flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo in October.

EgyptAir is expected to operate four times a week beginning in October.

Currently, the only flights between Ben Gurion airport and Cairo International Airport are operated discreetly by EgyptAir subsidiary Air Sinai, which use unmarked aircraft.

Air Sinai was established in 1982 under the terms of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, which stipulated that there must be active civilian aviation routes between the two countries.

On Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for talks in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, a sign that bilateral ties are warming up.

Egypt has recently been playing a more active role in the region, brokering a ceasefire in May that ended Operation Guardian of the Walls, in which Israel targeted Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

In the months since the conflict ended, al-Sisi’s government has facilitated rebuilding efforts in Gaza and has reportedly offered to host an international peace summit in an attempt to revive peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, which have been suspended since 2014.