The direct air route from Israel to Mumbai and New Delhi could be reinstated. El Al and Arkia are examining the possibility of operating a route that will fill the gap left by Air India, which is yet to announce the resumption of activity in Israel and has postponed any possible return to early 2026.
The two Israeli airlines are awaiting permission to fly over Oman, which has again become a possibility following the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. If permission is granted, it could change the current aviation map. It will shorten the flying time to India from nine hours to seven. The current long, nine-hour route makes direct flights to India less profitable, and many passengers prefer to fly more cheaply with a connecting flight via the UAE.
This morning, Arkia announced that it was in talks on renewing the direct Israel-India route. In a meeting between Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz and Indian ambassador to Israel J.P. Singh and commercial attaché Shri Garika Tejeswar, the possibility was discussed of renewing the route.
In the past, Arkia operated direct flights to destinations in India, but today, in the absence of Air India, there is no airline that flies directly between the two countries, even though India is a popular destination for Israeli travelers. At today’s meeting, technical aspects of operating the route were also discussed, with the aim of introducing flights to destinations such as Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, and Bangalore.
The shorter route over Oman would make it possible to use narrow-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus A321neo LR in service with Arkia. Aircraft of this type are not suitable for the long route, and so operating the route without permission to overfly Oman would not pay.
Oman first announced in February 2023 that it would allow Israeli aircraft to traverse its airspace, which considerably shortened flight times to Asia, reduced fuel costs, and enabled Israeli airlines to compete directly with foreign airlines operating similar routes. Overflight permission was withdrawn with the outbreak of war in October 2023.
During the Covid pandemic the Israeli airlines stopped flying to Asia. El Al diverted planes from the routes to Beijing, Mumbai, and Hong Kong to other destinations, and Arkia halted its flights to Cochin and Goa. In February 2023, Arkia opened a route to Colombo, but closed it after three months as it was found to be unprofitable.
If flying over Oman becomes a reality, flights to other destinations in Asia will also be affected. Flight times to Thailand will be shortened by about two hours, and to Vietnam by about one hour.
A shortening of these routes will also enable the airlines to make their operations more efficient by diverting aircraft to other destinations or raising the frequency of flights on existing routes. Shorter flight times will free up aircraft and crews earlier than currently planned, and make possible more efficient use of the existing fleet and reduce operating costs.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 2, 2025.
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