A Soviet commercial airliner landed at Ben-Gurion Airport last Thursday night carrying a 46-member Soviet chess team competing in the European chess championship tournament that opened in Haifa on Friday.
Though reportedly the first direct commercial flight from Moscow to Israel, it did not inaugurate regular air service between the two countries.
That is expected to begin in January, jointly by El Al, the Israeli national airline, and its Soviet counterpart, Aeroflot.
Some details still have to be settled between the two carriers. One is the fare.
Aeroflot reportedly wants to charge $650 for a direct flight from Moscow or Leningrad to Tel Aviv. El Al wants a cheaper fare, as low as $500.
The Soviet chess team is among 224 players from 26 countries participating in the match, which is taking place at the Dan Carmel Hotel. Also competing are teams from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria which, like the Soviet Union, have either limited or no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The absence of formal ties with Moscow may have been why the Aeroflot pilot, Capt. Oleg Agalonow, flew his Tupelov-134 jet out of Israel shortly after landing.
He told Israeli reporters that some diplomatic problems did not allow him to stay in Israel overnight. He had to fly to Athens instead.
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