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Israeli officials rejoice as Saudi Arabia opens airspace to Tel Aviv for first time ever
Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport about 30 minutes after its scheduled arrival time of 19:45 GMT.
"This is a historic moment," Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said on the tarmac as the Boeing Dreamliner rolled to a halt.
"It is the first time that there is an official connection between the state of Israel and Saudi Arabia," he said in Hebrew.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin was also there to welcome the flight.
"A new era has begun," he said.
There will now be three flights weekly in each direction, ending a decades-long Saudi ban on the use of its airspace for commercial flights to Israel.
Israel's national carrier El Al currently operates an India service to Mumbai that takes a detour over the Red Sea to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic relations, like much of the Arab world. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel.
