Jerusalem, 10 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel and the United States signed an amendment to their 2010 aviation agreement on Tuesday expanding cargo flight rights between the countries.
The protocol, signed by Transportation Minister Miri Regev and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, grants “seventh freedom” rights for cargo operations. This measure allows Israeli and American cargo airlines to transport goods between the other country and third countries even when flights do not originate in their home state. The change removes longstanding restrictions that required Israeli cargo flights on international routes to depart from or land in Israel.
the United States also approved the continuation of Arkia’s U.S. operations under a “wet lease” arrangement through April 2027. A wet lease in aviation is an arrangement where one airline provides an aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance to another airline, which sells the tickets or cargo space and operates the service under its own brand.