JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel's leading airline El Al announced on Tuesday that it will operate first direct flights to Australia.
According to the company's announcement, it will first operate three round trips in April and May 2020 between Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near the coastal city of Tel Aviv and Australia's Melbourne, ahead of operating a permanent flight route later.
These will be the longest flights in Israel's aviation history, about 16 hours and 15 minutes to Melbourne and 17 hours and 45 minutes in the opposite direction. Round trip fares will start at 1,199 U.S. dollars.
El Al's Vice President of Marketing Miki Strassburger said that "the new route will significantly shorten the ways from Israel to Australia and dramatically deepen the tourism, business and political ties between the two countries."
