EL AVIV: The direct maiden flight of Air India to Tel Aviv from New Delhi landed here on Thursday.  It is a bearer of news as AI scripts a new chapter in the India-Israel relationship which ended a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia.

Flight AI 139 arrived at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 2215 (as per Israeli time).

"This is really a historical moment...We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel...and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI.

He added such a direct link would further reinforce the ties between the two nations.

Saudi Arabia's decision to allow Air India to use its airspace has facilitated the Indian airline to take a shorter route.

This flight will cover the distance in 7.15 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two nations-- Israel's national carrier El Al.

On a query over Saudi Arabia agreed to Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: "We have to very cautious. This is really a first step -- a very important one... I hope with times we have more and more normal relationship with our neighbour in this region....India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region."

Terming as "historic" the jiffy of the arrival of the AI’s maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of rigorous efforts had attempted over the last two years with a strong vision as the prime ministers of both the countries supported the initiative.