Iberia, the Spanish national airline, flew an inaugural flight yesterday from Madrid to Ben-Gurion Airport, starting a regular service between Spain and Israel for the first time.
El Al will begin regular flights to Madrid next week. Because official diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel do not exist, despite Israeli efforts to arrange them after the fall of the Franco regime, the air service agreement was discussed and signed by the two airlines, instead of via the customary diplomatic process between two countries.
Iberia will fly a DC-10 plane from Madrid to Israel on Wednesdays and a Boeing 727 from Madrid and Barcelona on Fridays. Starting August 15, El Al will fly a Boeing 707 to Madrid on Mondays and Thursdays.
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