Israel and Turkey on Thursday signed a new bilateral civil aviation agreement, their first since 1951, as part of a recent warming of diplomatic ties, allowing Israeli carriers to resume flights to Turkey after a 15-year absence.
"The agreement is expected to result in the resumption of flights by Israeli companies to a variety of destinations in Turkey, alongside flights by Turkish companies to Israel," Israel's Transportation Ministry said in a statement.
It said that the deal stemmed from "constructive negotiations in recent weeks and constitutes an important milestone in advancing bilateral relations."
Israeli carriers have not flown commercially to Turkey since 2007, while Turkish carriers flew as many as 16 flights a day to Israel pre-COVID.
