Jerusalem, 14 March, 2022 (TPS) — Royal Air Maroc, Morocco’s national carrier, has launched direct flights to Israel, the latest phase in the normalization of ties between the two countries.

The first flight from Morocco, Royal Air Maroc Flight AT228, landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, some 15 months after the countries signed a normalization agreement, part of the historic Abraham Accords.

The line was initially set to launch in December but was delayed due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Royal Air Maroc CEO Abdelhamid Addou stated that he was “very proud and honored” to be “at this historic moment.”

“This new connection will be a factor of rapprochement between our peoples. These connections are based on very old ties between our monarchy and the Jewish people. Today, it is about reconnecting a family,” he declared.

Round trips between Casablanca and Tel Aviv cost some $450.

The Israeli Israir and El Al launched their direct flights to Morocco in July.

In December 2020, Israel and Morocco officially agreed to establish diplomatic relations. Morocco became the sixth Arab league member to recognize Israel and the fourth in the space of four months, following Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan, to establish relations with Israel within the framework of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, the first pact signed between Arab countries and Israel in 25 years.

Before that, the two countries maintained informal ties.