El Al and the Soviet airline, Aeroflot, seem to have launched their joint service between Moscow and Tel Aviv, though without official blessings.
The two national air carriers agreed more than a month ago to operate the service, but the Soviet authorities so far have not ratified it.
Nevertheless, an El Al flight arrived at Ben- Gurion Airport directly from Moscow on Thursday, the second such flight by an Israeli airliner in as many days.
It landed 100 new immigrants as well as the cast and stagehands of Habimah, Israel’s national theater troupe, which just concluded a series of performances in Moscow.
On Wednesday, an Aeroflot Tupolev-134 plane on a direct flight from Moscow arrived here with 50 immigrants and 100 Soviet Jewish tourists aboard.
The plane returned to Moscow with 50 teenage victims of the 1987 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, who had received medical treatment in Israel.
Another group of Chernobyl victims is expected here for treatment shortly.
Neither El Al nor Aeroflot have advertised these flights as the start of their new service. They are, in fact, listed as “special flights.”
A few Aeroflot planes have landed in Israel earlier, but all stopped in Cyprus first.
Wednesday’s flight, though announced via Cyprus, was in fact non-stop from Moscow.
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