Despite rough (underscore on the rough) relations between the two nations, a Saudi Arabian plane landed at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel this Wednesday.
The rumor mill went wild. Many initially thought that the plane was forced to land in Israel due to technical issues or that this was sign of closer relations between the two, but now Israel is claiming that it was actually part of routine, scheduled checks for the aircraft.
Saudi Airlines denied reports that the event occurred and is now looking to see if the carrier violated the terms of their contract.
According to Israel, the plane, an Airbus A330-300, belonged to a European airline who was leasing it to Saudi Airlines, the government-owned national airline of Saudi Arabia.
The Airbus had no passengers on board when it landed and was scheduled to land for routine check-ups by Bedek, an Israeli company contracted by Israel Aircraft Industries.
An IAI spokesperson confirmed the plane’s arrival to The Times of Israel and said that the “ongoing and routine maintenance” that the company provided for the European airline.
The kingdom, similar to many other countries in the Middle East, does not recognize Israel and does not operate any flights to or from the country. Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines are the only flagship Middle Eastern arilines who operate to and from Ben Gurion Airport.