Israel and Canada signed aviation agreement opening air route to competition

Israel and Canada have signed the first official aviation agreement to allow more airlines to fly between the two countries. The new aviation agreement will lead to a significant increase in flights between the two countries and allow other scheduled airlines to operate regular flights on the route.

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. currently operates four weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Toronto, and Air Canada has daily flights between Israel and Canada. Passenger traffic on the route is around 130,000 a year.

Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz noted in a press release that, “The agreement will make it possible to increase flights between the countries to 12 passenger and cargo flights per week, and will increase incoming tourism to Israel.”

Until the signing of the new agreement, Israel and Canada have not had an aviation agreement, but used a protocol that regulated scheduled flights between the countries on an individual basis, (Memoranda of Understanding), and allowed only El Al and Air Canada to operate these flights.