Israel Delays Open Skies Deal With Europe
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz directed Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority on Monday not to sign an “open skies” agreement with the European Union until his office examines the potential effects such an agreement would have on Israeli airline companies.
Talks on an “open skies” framework, which would replace a number of bilateral agreements with European countries with a single Israel-EU agreement, have been ongoing for several years, but a deal between the sides has proven elusive.
Such an agreement is meant to lower the price of flights by introducing competition in the form of new airlines into the Israeli market. The next round of talks between Israel and the EU is scheduled for March 20.
Katz promised on Monday that he would take into account the interests of Israel’s commercial airlines in any agreement to increase competition in Israel’s aviation sector.
In a meeting with the heads of Israel’s three commercial airlines – El Al, Arkia and Israir – Katz said he would not sign any such agreement before considering its effects on their economic standing.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
