Maldives says won't permit Israeli flights
Presidential spokesperson said the Maldives had not received any proposal from either Israeli government or any of its airlines.
Israel's flag carrier has not submitted any proposal to begin operations to the Maldives, the island nation's authorities announced on Thursday, saying that the country will not issue a permit to El Al Israel Airline.
In an interview with Reuters last week, Chief Executive Dina Ben-Tal Ganancia said El Al was looking to resume flights to India and add flights to Australia, and possibly the Philippines, Singapore and Maldives at some point, and plans to expand its Boeing 787 fleet to 22 by 2028 from 16 currently.
At a press conference held at the President's Office, presidential spokesperson Miuvan Mohamed said the Maldives had not received any proposal from either Israeli government or any of its airlines to begin operations.
Noting that Israel and Maldives do not have trade relations, Miuvan said the airline will not be able to fly to the Maldives as there is no air services agreement between the two countries.
El Al had in 2011 applied to begin direct service between Tel Aviv and Male, but later abandoned the plans due to protests in the Maldives over Israel's atrocities in Palestine.
