Qatar Airways flights are unable to achieve the cruising height demanded by the Israeli air force regulations, Haaretz reported Monday.
The Israeli Air Force regulations on the height at which civilian aircraft can fly across Israel are threatening the implementation of an agreement between Israel and Qatar that would allow Qatar Airways aircraft to fly over Israeli skies, the daily added.
According to the paper, the military only allows civilian aircraft to fly over Israeli skies up to a height of 11,000 feet or above 35,000 feet, reserving the range in between as its exclusive area for training exercises.
Qatar Airways would like to send its daily London flights, as well as flights to Munich and Paris flights due to start in November, over Israeli skies, since this would shorten its current routes over Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon or Turkey, the newspaper said.
But the airline said that the mid-size aircraft it uses for these flights cannot climb to the height that the Israeli Air Force wants them to be at when they fly over Israel, according to the Israeli daily.
Since the flights originate from the Qatar capital of Doha, it would also be impractical for them to fly at under 11,000 feet because by the time they reach Israel, the planes are already at full cruising height.
According to an AFP report on Saturday, Jordan, Egypt and Israel reached an agreement in principle to ease air traffic congestion between them.
The agreement would involve setting up an air traffic control center to monitor congestion affecting the area over the Red Sea Gulf of Aqaba, off the coasts of Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
The report said Israel was opposed to allowing foreign airlines to use its airspace when flying in and out of Jordan, arguing that this posed a threat to Israeli military flights – (Several Sources)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
