For the first time, Palestinian tourists landed on Monday 22/8 at Larnaka International Airport on a flight of the Israeli private carrier, Arkia, which flew directly to Cyprus departing from Ramon International Airport, in southern Israel.

This is the first tourist flight for Palestinian tourists, holders of Palestinian Authority passports, departing from Ramon Airport, in accordance with the new package of confidence-building measures between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which were agreed during US President Joe Biden’s official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Up until now, Palestinian Authority passport holders, to fly abroad, had to drive from the West Bank to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge border control in order to reach Amman International Airport. This procedure was implemented for decades due to Israeli security restrictions, which did not allow for Palestinian Authority nationals to fly via Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport.

In line with the new confidence-building measures, it was agreed that PA nationals would be allowed to drive 180 km from Ramallah via Jerusalem to the new Ramon International Airport, located at the outskirts of the southern Israeli city of Eilat at the Red Sea, by bus, specially chartered in accordance with special security measures coordinated by Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

According to AFP, out of a total of 40 Palestinian passengers, 25 were members of a local pharmacists' association, initially intending to visit Turkey. However, the Palestinian travel agency in charge of organizing their excursion, offered Cyprus as an alternate destination, because Israeli airlines do not yet operate flights to and from Turkish airports and in addition, the Arkia flight  from Ramon International Airport was exclusively intended for Palestinian Authority passport holders in accordance with the newly implemented confidence-building measures.

Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh, in his statements to local media, reiterated his Government's request to reopen the former international airport in Jerusalem, to serve Palestinian nationals, West Bank residents, who want to fly abroad. An airport located in Atarot area, on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem near to Qalandia Checkpoint, served international flights when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian rule. Nevertheless, when East Jerusalem came under Israeli control as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Jordanian “Al-Quds International Airport” in Atarot stopped serving commercial flights. Few years later its operation was completely shut down and since 2001 a significant part of its area is included in wider Israeli construction projects.