LATAM Airlines landed in Israel for the first time in December, following the opening of a new direct route from Santiago via São Paulo/Guarulhos. This is the only direct route between Latin America and Israel, and will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said, “After years of separation and as a result of the unprecedented momentum in tourism traffic into Israel, we inaugurate today the first direct flight from South America. The arrival in Israel of LATAM Airlines, one of the largest in South America, is a breakthrough in flight connections between Israel and Brazil and an expression of confidence in Israel’s tourism potential – and this in light of the huge increase in incoming tourism from Latin America.”
LATAM Airlines said that it will operate the route with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, offering 217 seats in Economy class and 30 in Premium Business. The flight Sao Paulo-Tel Aviv is 13 hours long, with the return journey taking 15 hours.
The opening of the new route from South America to Israel is the result of cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and LATAM. The new LATAM flights will increase the number of tourists from Latin America. From the beginning of the year until November, 146,000 tourists arrived in Israel from Latin America, of which about 32,500 were from Argentina and 58,000 from Brazil. This is a 62% increase in the number of tourists from Latin America, compared to the same period in 2016. In Brazil, the increase was 87% on the same period in 2016.
