The recent Israel-Jordan agreement opening their airspace will cut flight distances to save 155 days of flying time and slice carbon emissions equal to removing 19,000 cars annually, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a press release on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2020) The recent Israel-Jordan agreement opening their airspace will cut flight distances to save 155 days of flying time and slice carbon emissions equal to removing 19,000 cars annually, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a press release on Wednesday.
"Airlines have historically flown around Israel when flying east / west operating over Middle East airspace. The direct routing through Jordanian and Israeli airspace will on average cut 106 km eastbound and 118 km westbound on flights operating from the Gulf States and Asia to destinations in Europe and North America," the release said.
The IATA based its estimates on the depressed level of passenger air traffic due the coronavirus pandemic.
Should air traffic return to pre-pandemic levels, the overflight agreement signed in early October would save 403 days of flying time and reduce carbon emissions equal to the removal of nearly 44,000 passenger vehicles from the road each year, the release said.
The overflight accord signed by civil aviation authorities in Israel and Jordan earlier this month followed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in September.
