Krief, the Israeli agent for Air China, said there already is 600 tons of air freight a month sent between Israel and China, with an equal share between imports and exports, although most is routed through Europe via various airlines.

Krief said a direct air cargo route would boost trade, especially Israeli exports to China.

Air China is able to overfly Arab countries, which Israel’s El Al cannot do, making a service economical. El Al previously operated a route, but found the costs to be prohibitive.