El Al and Austrian Airlines will add two weekly flights

Israel and Austrian signed last week a new air service agreement which will enable El Al and Austrian Airlines to add two flights per week as from 2006.
 
The agreement was signed in Tel Aviv by Mr. Udi Zohar, director general of the Israel's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Mr. Alois Kraut, head of Austrian's Civil Aviation Authority.
 
Earlier this year, Austrian Airlines turned to the Supreme Court to force the government to allow it to increase its flights to Ben- Gurion Airport from seven to 10 a week, after its appeal to the Civil Aviation Authority was rejected. The Supreme Court ruled that Austrian Airlines could add two weekly flights to Israel, bringing its total to nine.
 
According to the newly signed agreement both companies can operate 8 weekly flights each as from the coming winter season. Mr. Arik Ben-Ari deputy director general of the CAA added that an agreement was reached to operate a mechanism which would guarantee at least 15 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Vienna in the high season.