The exciting flight from Israel will pass over Saudi Arabia.

• The plane that will take off for Abu Dhabi

History will take place today - El Al's LY971 flight will depart from Ben Gurion Airport at 10:30 a.m., and about three hours later the plane will land in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first time an Israeli company has landed on UAE soil, in the upcoming weeks. 

The return flight will be LY972. The return flight, 971, matches the telephone area code of the Emirates, the return flight, 972, matches the telephone area code of the State of Israel. The flight will pass over the skies of Saudi Arabia today, and El Al will be the first Israeli airline to fly on this route. The flight ticket that will be issued to passengers who will be on the flight today, has been specially designed for the festive day. The card reads "Making History" in three languages ​​- Hebrew, Arabic and English. 

The aircraft that will make the flight will be a Boeing 737-900. For the festive occasion, the word "peace" was written on the upper front of the plane in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English. The plane will have 16 seats in the business class, where senior members of the American delegation and the Israeli delegation will sit; The journalists and the other people who would join sat in economy class at the back of the plane.

Archive photo: Roi Avraham; Sound: Nir Sharaf / GPO

To operate the flight, El Al returned three senior pilots from the IDF. The pilot who will lead the crew will be Tal Becker, and with him will be the plane Tal Bina Naor and Gal Flevitz. And prepare for the historic event.

The aircraft that will fly the expedition will also have a sky-protection system, a missile defense system manufactured by Elbit. The system operates using a laser beam that is launched towards the missile head and moves it away from the aircraft by disrupting the tracking.

Among the staff members will be Liat Elazar (50), whose father, who was an El Al employee, was killed in a terrorist attack while wearing an El Al uniform in Turkey exactly 40 years ago.

"It is a great honor for me to make this flight as part of the peace process," she said, "I have not slept three days of excitement."

The flight service manager will be Hedva Optovsky, who will retire immediately after the flight: "I flew with the late Begin, the late Rabin, the late Sharon, Barak and Netanyahu. I worked on El Al's route to Tehran and Brazil, I was on rescue flights and worked during the Corona period. This is a very exciting way to end El Al's services after 46 years. It is an honor to do so on the peace flight, after which I will immediately take off my uniform and embark on a new path. "