First in 7 years: Israel flag carrier carrying Pinoys lands in PH

The El Al plane with flight No. LY 063 landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6:25 a.m. carrying 250 Filipino agriculture students who completed their 11-month on-the-job training course in Israel. (PNA Photo)

MANILA – Israel flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines carrying hundreds of Filipino students has landed in Manila on Wednesday, a historic first in the last seven years that symbolized the “good relations” between the two nations, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz said.

The El Al plane with flight No. LY 063 landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6:25 a.m. carrying 250 Filipino agriculture students who completed their 11-month on-the-job training course in Israel.

The Filipino trainees from different universities and colleges in the Philippines immersed in combined academic learning and practical work in the latest farming techniques and technologies in Israel.

The overseas program offered the students the opportunity to study at specialized agricultural academic centers and work in modern farms throughout Israel.

Approximately 5,000 Filipino students already participated in the Agro Studies program. Another batch of flight from Israel to the Philippines is scheduled later this month, the Israel Embassy in Manila said.

“The Embassy looks forward that after the Covid-19 pandemic and through the existing visa-free agreement, more Filipino tourists will come to visit Israel and vice versa; and hopefully, the direct flight services between the two countries will be implemented soon,” it said.

It was in November 2013 when two Israeli planes carrying humanitarian aid first touched the Philippine soil via Cebu airport to assist the Philippines in wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan).

“It was one of the biggest relief operations that Israel has ever conducted. The Israeli delegation of doctors, nurses, and paramedics and Israeli Foreign Ministry and Defense personnel provided a field hospital and helped repair damaged infrastructures such as schools and water facilities particularly in Bogo, Cebu,” the Embassy said.