STAND WITHABRAHAM العربية

Benefit Index › Sectors

Tourism and flights

What has happened since 2020, with sources. Figures show change over time, not cause.

Draft, under review: this content has not yet been approved for publication.

Overview

Direct flights were among the first visible results of the Accords. flydubai flew the first scheduled UAE–Israel service on 26 November 2020, Israeli airlines began flying to Morocco in July 2021 and Gulf Air launched Bahrain–Tel Aviv flights in September 2021. UAE government figures show UAE–Israel air passengers rising from about 892,000 in 2024 to about 1.53 million in 2025, with a record 136 direct flights a week.

Travel has been heavily one-way. A 2023 AAPI report counted 268,000 Israeli visitors to the UAE in 2022, against 1,600 Emirati visitors to Israel. Flights to Bahrain and Morocco were disrupted after October 2023, and current official frequencies for those routes are not published. Figures show change over time, not cause.

Key numbers

c. 892,000UAE–Israel air passengers2024 [1]
c. 1.53 million (+71.3%)UAE–Israel air passengers2025 [1]
136Record weekly UAE–Israel direct flights2025 [1]
c. 120Usual weekly UAE–Israel direct flights2025 [1]
1 millionIsraeli tourists to the UAE since the Accords (Israeli MFA)by end 2022 [2]
1.2 millionTourists since the Accords (Israeli MFA, UAE page)by end 2023 [2]
268,000 / 1,600Israelis visiting the UAE / Emiratis visiting Israel (AAPI)2022 [3]
200,000 / 2,900Israelis visiting Morocco / Moroccans visiting Israel (AAPI)2022 [3]
2,700 / 400Israelis visiting Bahrain / Bahrainis visiting Israel (AAPI)2022 [3]
double dailyflydubai launch frequency2020 [4]
2 a weekGulf Air launch frequency2021 [5]⚑

Timeline

  1. Bahrain and Israel sign a civil aviation MoU and a visa exemption for diplomatic passports. [6]

  2. flydubai's first scheduled flight from Dubai lands in Tel Aviv. [4][7]

  3. Morocco–Israel Joint Declaration authorises direct flights and overflight rights. [8]

  4. Israeli airlines begin direct flights to Morocco. [9]⚑

  5. Gulf Air flies its first commercial Bahrain–Tel Aviv service. [5]⚑

  6. The Negev Forum sets up a Tourism working group. [10]

  7. Royal Air Maroc announces a Casablanca–Tel Aviv route. [11]⚑

  8. Bahrain says direct flights with Israel had been suspended for weeks. [12]

  9. UAE–Israel flights reach a record 136 a week; passengers about 1.53 million for the year. [1]

Country highlights

UAE

Record 136 weekly flights and about 1.53m passengers in 2025. flydubai opened the route in Nov 2020. [1][4]

Bahrain

Aviation MoU (Oct 2020) and Gulf Air route (Sep 2021). AAPI counted 2,700 Israeli and 400 Bahraini visitors in 2022. Flights were suspended after Oct 2023; current status data in progress. [6][5]⚑[3][12]

Morocco

Direct flights from July 2021; AAPI counted about 200,000 Israeli visitors in 2022. Current frequencies: Data in progress. [9]⚑[11]⚑[3]

Sudan

Data in progress

Israel

Israel's MFA reported 1.2 million tourists between the UAE and Israel by end 2023. Inbound visitors from Accords states remain small. [2][3]

Kazakhstan

Data in progress. Kazakhstan announced it would join the Accords in November 2025; it has had relations with Israel since 1992. No sector-specific cooperation sourced yet. [13][14]

Flagship projects

flydubai Dubai–Tel Aviv

First scheduled UAE–Israel commercial service, double daily at launch.

Partners
flydubai; Dubai International; Ben Gurion Airport
Date
26 Nov 2020
Status
Operating (UAE–Israel routes at about 120 flights a week in 2025)

[4][1]

Gulf Air Bahrain–Tel Aviv

First Bahraini commercial route to Israel.

Partners
Gulf Air
Date
30 Sep 2021
Status
Suspended after Oct 2023; current status data in progress

[5]⚑[12]

Israel–Morocco direct flights

Israeli carriers fly to Marrakech; Royal Air Maroc announced Casablanca–Tel Aviv.

Partners
Israeli airlines; Royal Air Maroc
Date
Jul 2021 / Feb 2022
Status
Current frequencies data in progress

[9]⚑[11]⚑

Bahrain–Israel civil aviation MoU

Legal basis for direct flights.

Partners
Governments of Bahrain and Israel
Date
18 Oct 2020
Status
Signed

[6]

Negev Forum Tourism working group

Regional working group on tourism.

Partners
Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, UAE, US
Date
2022
Status
Established; activity since 2023 data in progress

[10][15]

Challenges

  • Tourism is lopsided: 268,000 Israelis visited the UAE in 2022 against 1,600 Emiratis visiting Israel (AAPI). [3]
  • Bahrain–Israel flights were suspended after October 2023, as Bahrain stated in November 2023. [12]
  • No official national tourism statistics by nationality were found for most pairs; AAPI figures come from an advocacy institute. [3]

What to watch

  • Whether UAE–Israel passengers keep growing in 2026 (UAE MOFA).
  • Resumption and frequency of Bahrain–Israel and Morocco–Israel flights.
  • Official arrivals by nationality from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics and the Accords countries' tourism authorities.

Sources

  1. UAE MOFA: Israel–UAE relationship
  2. Embassy of Israel in the UAE: bilateral relations
  3. Abraham Accords Peace Institute (AAPI), 19 Feb 2023
  4. Dubai Media Office, 26 Nov 2020: flydubai lands in Tel Aviv
  5. Reuters, 9 Sep 2021 link being re-checked
  6. Embassy of Israel in Bahrain: bilateral relations
  7. Consulate General of Israel in Dubai: bilateral relations
  8. Morocco–Israel Joint Declaration text (Jewish Virtual Library)
  9. Reuters, 25 Jul 2021 link being re-checked
  10. US State Department archive: Negev Forum Steering Committee
  11. Reuters, 21 Feb 2022 link being re-checked
  12. The National, 2 Nov 2023: Bahrain parliament statement
  13. US Embassy in Kazakhstan: A New Era in U.S.–Kazakhstan Relations (Nov 2025)
  14. NPR / AP, 7 Nov 2025
  15. UAE MOFA, 10 Jan 2023: Negev Forum working groups

Sources checked on 27 Oct 2026. Figures show change over time, not cause. ⚑ marks a link being re-checked.