TEL AVIV — Israeli airline Arkia said on Tuesday it would launch the first nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and Manila in early 2027, a move the Philippines hopes will be a springboard to a free trade agreement with Israel.
- Arkia is Israel’s second largest airline behind flag carrier El Al ELAL.TA.
- The new Tel Aviv-Manila route will begin on January 3 with a weekly flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and initially fly through April.
- Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz: “The launch of the Manila route is another step in further deepening Arkia’s operations in the Far East and in implementing our strategic plan for long-haul routes.”
- Berlowitz said that nearly 50,000 people from the Philippines worked in Israel and travel back and forth from Tel Aviv, while Manila also has a large evangelical population.
- Bilateral trade between Israel and the Philippines is low at $350 million a year.
- Aileen Mendiola, Philippines ambassador to Israel, told Reuters that the new route “would mean more cargo … and so, if the volume is there and the demand is there, then hopefully a free trade agreement can happen”.
- Israel’s Economy Ministry said there was a “general desire on both sides” for a deal.
- Economy Minister Nir Barkat visited the Philippines in July 2025 and said at the time the two countries would explore the possibility of entering into negotiations for an FTA.
—Reporting by Steven Scheer;Editing by Alison Williams
